ESPN spent years selling streaming as a cleaner alternative to cable. Its latest price increase has some sports fans wondering whether the old bundle was really so bad after all.
The company is raising the cost of ESPN Unlimited on Sept. 17, with the monthly plan moving from $29.99 to $31.99 and the annual subscription jumping from $299.99 to $319.99. The timing, just as football season takes over the calendar, drew immediate frustration online.
Clay Travis, Sports Fans Rip ESPN Price Increase
Clay Travis reacted twice to the announcement, helping turn another streaming price adjustment into a broader complaint about how expensive and fragmented sports viewing has become.
The reactions ranged from “I miss cable” to the familiar complaint that sports fans keep paying more while getting less.
Travis has made that argument before, including in June congressional testimony about the changing sports broadcasting market.
ESPN has increased their annual cost for streaming the channel to $320 a year, an increase of $20 over last year. Increase starts for football. Remember when people argued streaming would save sports fans money compared to cable? Sports fans keep paying more and getting less.
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) August 24, 2026
Josh Kraushaar also joined the response to ESPN’s pricing news, while Julia, Patrick Heizer, Mark Hall, Texan Pride and RW Bourbon were among the other users weighing in on the increased cost through their own posts.
The frustration comes from more than the extra $20 attached to the annual plan. Following the increase, paying for ESPN Unlimited month by month for a full year would cost $383.88. The annual option offers a discount, but $319.99 still pushes the standalone service past the $300 barrier only a year after its launch.
People will quickly get nostalgic for the days (and quality) of the cable bundle. https://t.co/rw4c5D25mW
— Josh Kraushaar (@JoshKraushaar) August 24, 2026
ESPN Select is getting more expensive as well. Its monthly subscription will rise from $12.99 to $13.99, while the annual plan moves from $129.99 to $139.99.
For fans who already feel buried under separate subscriptions for different leagues and games, it was easy to see why the news revived some cable nostalgia. Similar price complaints have followed the NFL’s increasingly fragmented broadcast landscape.
Ah yes, well — the sweet, sweet smell of “NFL Guaranteed Audience, Time to Raise Prices” season is upon us. https://t.co/xWgbYJd6ve
— julia alexander (@loudmouthjulia) August 24, 2026
The latest reaction is another reminder that cord cutting has not necessarily meant cutting costs.
ESPN Adds More Sports While Raising Standalone Price
There is another side to the increase. ESPN Unlimited has expanded since launching in August 2025.
NFL Network was added to the ESPN app for Unlimited subscribers on July 30, bringing more than 1,500 hours of studio programming along with 19 preseason games and seven exclusive regular season matchups. ESPN has also added CW Sports programming and carries its normal lineup of ESPN, ESPN2, SEC Network, ACC Network and other channels.
Some subscribers will avoid the standalone increase altogether. Bundles featuring ESPN Unlimited with Disney+ and Hulu are not changing price in this round, and reports indicate roughly 80% of Unlimited customers currently subscribe through a bundle.
That still leaves standalone customers with a bill moving in one direction.
Streaming was supposed to let sports fans escape bloated cable packages. With another app approaching $320 per year, Monday’s reaction sounded increasingly like viewers were wondering whether they escaped anything at all.
