Disney Announces Shutdown of Popular ESPN Streaming Channel

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Max Escarpio | Last updated Dec 10, 2025 4:48 PM ET

The drama between Disney and YouTube at the end of October meant that all the Disney channels were pulled from YouTube TV due to the media deal's expiration.

In the middle of November, Disney and YouTube agreed to a new deal, allowing the channels to go back on YouTube TV after a lot of discussions back and forth.

Still, changes are coming to the ESPN network, which is owned by Disney, even after the standoff with the YouTube deal was put to rest.

ESPN broadcasts some of the major sporting events, and for years, ESPN3 has broadcast some lesser events and more niche content.

General view of an ESPN microphone during the first half of a Colorado Buffaloes spring game at Folsom Field. © Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Now, it turns out that ESPN is being discontinued, per a report from David Satin of Streamable.

"The new year is almost upon us, but ESPN3 didn’t quite make it through to 2026. As of Dec. 2, Disney and ESPN have officially discontinued ESPN3, which has ceased operations and is no longer available on any live TV streaming service, or in any linear pay-TV package. Its content has been dispersed."

Satin also added that this move causes "major headaches for Sling TV customers."

Sad update in the broadcast realm: ESPN 3 is has been shutdown.
This is a problem for folks with SLING, as under the SLING Blue/Orange plan, you could turn to ESPN 3 and watch all ABC games.
In many markets, the local ABC channel is not available w/SLING.
Big loss losing ESPN3.
— @CollegeFootballHullabalooForY'all (@Hullabaloo_WPN) December 5, 2025

The company continues to make major changes to the network. In August, it launched the ESPN Unlimited service, and now it is moving on from ESPN3 in a big move.

The ESPN3 channel featured less popular sports, including college basketball games, tennis matches and international games, but it was officially removed from the network as of the beginning of December.

For now, the content that was on ESPN3 will be on ESPN, ESPN2, or ABC, or on digital services like ESPN+ or the ESPN Unlimited.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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