The streaming industry is continuously growing with new players entering the market. Giants like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, etc. are great in their way but the new ones are slowly making their way to the top. Two of the top competitors that we will discuss in this article are Discovery+ and ESPN+.
There are a handful of differences that we will discuss in this article. We’ll take this intro section to jump into one major difference right now.
Recently, it was announced that Discovery+, in partnership with Corus, has opened its viewership to Canada. So now we can call it Discovery+ Canada. But can you watch ESPN+ Canada? You can’t because it doesn’t exist.
ESPN+ is yet to open its gates to the Canadian audience. If you do plan to access it, you would require a Virtual Private Network (VPN). This is just one of the big differences we’ll list down and discuss ahead. So, let’s get started.
Price
Disney+ has two packages; an ad-supported version (priced at 6.43 CAD/month) and an ad-free version (priced at 9 CAD/month). ESPN+ costs 6.01 CAD/month and you can save up to 15% if you opt for the annual subscription. At this point, we don’t see much price difference, but the ad-free version of Discovery+ beats the ad-supported ESPN+.
On the other hand, if ads don’t bother you, then we find Discovery+ to be cheaper than ESPN+. So, for this category, we find Discovery+ to be a clear winner.
Live Channels and On-Demand content
Now, this is a dealbreaker based on the type of content you’re looking for. For those of you who didn’t know, ESPN stands for the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network. But even if you didn’t, you would know their popularity comes from sports channels, live sporting event coverages, and sports news, etc.
Some of ESPN+ Original documentaries and series, available on-demand, include:
- The Harder Way
- College Football 150
- 30 for 30 Shorts
- 30 for 30 film series
- Fútbol Américas
- Greeny
- After TUF
- ESPN FC
- Bettor Days
- The Fantasy Show
- Fuera de Juego
- Backstory with Don Van Natta Jr.
- Abby’s Places
- America’s Caddie
- The Chael Sonnen Show
Discovery+ sounds an awful lot like the Discovery channel we used to watch (remember those?) well, that’s not all this service is about. It does feature factual documentaries and series on nature, wildlife, landscapes, etc. It has evolved to harboring major channels like:
- HGTV
- Food Network
- TLC
- Animal Planet
- OWN
- Discovery
- Discovery+ Originals
- Investigation Discovery
- Magnolia Network
- A&E
- Lifetime
- History
- Trvl
- DIY Network
- The Dodo.
This means that Discovery+ houses the following features:
- Iron Chef
- Ghost Adventures
- Worst Cooks in America
- House Hunters
- Fixer Upper: Welcome Home
- 90 Day Journey
- Martha Knows Best
- Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
- Restored By the Fords
- Drive-Ins And Dives
- Deadliest Catch
- Love It or List It
- Planet Earth II
- Say Yes to The Dress: In Sickness and In Health
- Diesel Brothers
We can’t declare a winner here since we are unaware of your taste in the content. If you’re a sports fan, ESPN+ is a no-brainer pick. If not, Discovery+ works best.
Viewing Audience
Looking at the channels above, you might’ve guessed why this is a separate heading. If we talk about ESPN+, its viewing audience is sports fans looking to stream live sporting events. Every year, ESPN+ proudly streams UFC, MLB, NBA, NFL, etc. It even has saved past events available to stream in its on-demand section.
Discovery+ caters to a wider audience. Everything from reality TV to games to documentaries to factual biopics is on Discovery+. Because Discovery+ is catering to a greater audience, we will crown it as the winner for the viewing audience.
Compatibility
The most important part of a streaming service is its compatibility with different devices. It is a fact that laptop and smartphone streaming numbers are reducing, and people are using devices like gaming consoles, Smart TVs, TV Boxes, etc. to access streaming services. So, these services need to be accessible on all platforms. Fortunately, it’s a tie since both services are compatible on almost all devices.
Final Thoughts
The comparison done below has two differentiating factors, which are accessibility, and channels offered. These are areas where we can’t decide for you. Sporting fans would ditch all the show offerings, prices, and compatibility features if they have an option like ESPN+. So, the result would be based on the type of viewership you prefer.
If you do plan to use ESPN+, you will need to use VPN to access it (if you’re outside the US). Out of the many options available, some of the best VPN to choose from are:
- ExpressVPN
- NordVPN
- IP Vanish
- PrivateVPN
- ZenMate
Just pick one of these options, change your region, and stream ESPN+. We hope you’ve come to a choice by the end of this comparison. Happy Streaming!
