Year
2024

ESPN Upsell on Disney+

Redesigning the upsell touchpoint

Year
2022

Role
Lead Designer on Upsell devices

Target Platform
Web, 10-foot UI devices

Design Process

  • Research

  • Wireframes

  • Design

  • Presentation

Challenge

In 2025, Disney set out to introduce ESPN Flagship, a premium live-sports subscription directly within the Disney+ and Hulu ecosystems. This initiative required a holistic redesign of sign-up, upgrade, and account management experiences across web, mobile, and living room devices, while ensuring compliance, reducing friction, and modernizing the “pick your plan” paradigm for a global streaming audience.

Users struggled to understand:

  • Which plan unlocked live ESPN content

  • How bundles compared

  • How to upgrade during key sports seasons

  • Why ESPN content appeared on Disney+ and Hulu but was not accessible with their current subscription

Viewer insights showed confusion and frustration, e.g., users not knowing that ESPN+ did not include linear ESPN. This eroded trust and reduced conversion.

Research

Behavioral Insights

  • 64% of participants said they would sign up for a bundle when value was clear.

  • A large share of downgrades occurred post-season (~39k annual volume).

  • High demand for clarity around live ESPN content availability.

Business Insights

  • Bundle “take rates” significantly outperform standalone plans.

  • Merchandising bundle-first generates higher conversion and better OI outcomes.

Results informed a shift toward bundle-only default merchandising, with optional paths to standalone plans.

Design Approach

Device Acquisition Flows for Living Room

Solution

A simplified but compliant device flow:

  • Streamlined plan select

  • Ad picker

  • FTC-compliant ledger

  • Focus on the primary plan (Flagship)

Impact: A consistent acquisition experience within technical limits.

Upgrade Flows for Existing Subscribers

Multiple upgrade entry points were introduced across both services:

Disney+ Entry Points

  • Hub hero

  • Hero carousel

  • In-line banners

  • Search results

Each triggered:

  1. An interstitial (often with upsell to premium)

  2. A Switch Ledger

  3. Confirmation and entitlement updates

Goal: Make upgrades discoverable wherever sports intent emerged.

Takeaways

Improved Acquisition Performance

Disney+ + Hulu bundle promo outperformed retail:

  • Higher conversion rate

  • Dramatically higher bundle take rate

Increased Intent Capture

Seasonal and sports-specific merchandising improved:

  • Sports upgrade initiation

  • Clarity around ESPN live content availability

Higher Plan Mix Quality

A shift from standalone to higher-value bundles:

  • +OI improvements

  • More users selecting Duo, Max, and Flagship bundle

“What’s the optimal level of friction to provide enough information without overwhelming users, while still supporting informed purchase decisions”

— Darren Weik

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