Disney+ South Africa is expanding its service with the addition of ESPN, bringing live sports channels to the platform for the first time.
Disney+ South Africa set to launch ESPN channels in October 2025
From 2 October 2025, all Disney+ customers in South Africa who are 18 years or older will get access to two ESPN channels at no extra cost.
These are 24-hour channels, which means they run all day and night, offering live sports events, sports news shows, and documentaries.
According to The Walt Disney Company, this is part of a bigger global rollout of ESPN on Disney+.
The sports brand has already been added to Disney+ in countries like Australia and South America, and the United States recently launched a new service called ESPN Unlimited.
What viewers can expect from ESPN on Disney+
The first channel, ESPN, will broadcast a wide variety of international sports.
South African fans will see matches from leagues such as:
- The Scottish Professional Football League and English Football League in the UK.
- The Dutch Eredivisie in the Netherlands.
- The German Cup (also called the DFB-Pokal).
- Turkey’s SüperLig.
- The fast-growing Saudi Pro League.
- Rugby competitions from Australia and Japan.
The second channel, ESPN 2, will focus on American sports. This includes:
- The NBA (basketball).
- The NFL (American football).
- The MLB (baseball).
- The NHL (ice hockey).
It will also feature women’s and college sports, such as the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) and the NCAAfootball and basketball leagues.
In addition to live games, ESPN will bring well-known studio shows such as SportsCentre, First Take, The Pat McAfee Show, and ESPN FC.
These shows cover breaking sports news, analysis, and interviews.
Viewers will also gain access to the award-winning 30 for 30 documentaries, which tell real-life stories about athletes and historic sporting events.
Why Disney+ is adding ESPN in South Africa
Disney executives say this move is about reaching more sports fans and competing with rivals like Netflix and Showmax, which have already entered the live sports space.
“The launch of the ESPN Africa channels on Disney+ in South Africa reflects our strategy to reach sports fans across multiple platforms and connect with new audiences,” Diego Londono, Senior Vice President for The Walt Disney Company EMEA, said.
Kyle de Klerk, Director of Sports for The Walt Disney Company Africa, added that the timing is perfect because “fans will be able to enjoy thrilling action right away as the European football season and the NFL have just launched, with milestones in 2025 including the start of the NBA, NHL, and NCAA leagues.”
Disney confirmed that the ESPN channels will be available to all South African Disney+ subscribers, whether on the Premium or Mobile plans, provided they are on an adult (18+) profile.
Currently, ESPN channels are already available on DStv and StarTimes across Africa, but this is the first time South Africans will get ESPN on Disney+ directly through streaming.