There’s plenty of new sports action coming to ESPN+ in December, including new games from the NBA, NHL and college football.

On December 4, ESPN On Disney+ will launch in the United States, where it will work much like the Hulu On Disney+ add-on, bringing all content from ESPN+ to the Disney+ app for subscribers of the Disney Streaming Bundle. Select ESPN content will also be available to all Disney+ subscribers.

Here are some highlights:

N.B.A

• Date/Event: December 14 | Emirates NBA Cup 2024 semi-final
• Date/Event: December 25 | Five Plays and Dunk the Halls

Five NBA games on Christmas Day will stream on ESPN+, starting with Dunk the Halls – the first real-time animated NBA game featuring the New York Knicks and Jalen Brunson hosting the San Antonio Spurs and Victor Wembanyama. The alt-cast special marks the first animated presentation of an NBA game and the first NBA game to be streamed on Disney+. In addition to the traditional game feed, a special feed featuring an animated volumetric alternate cast “Dunk The Halls” live from Main Street USA at the Magic Kingdom will be available on ESPN+.

Timberwolves at Mavericks will tip next, followed by 76ers at Celtics, Lakers at Warriors and the Nuggets at Suns.

NBA Christmas Specials

• 12:00 PM EST – NBA Christmas Special presented by State Farm: San Antonio Spurs at New York Knicks – From Madison Square Garden, the New York Knicks and Jalen Brunson host the San Antonio Spurs and Victor Wembanyama in what will be the French sensation’s first his Christmas game.
• 2:30 PM EST – NBA Christmas Special presented by State Farm: Minnesota Timberwolves at Dallas Mavericks
  The Dallas Mavericks and Luka Dončić host the Minnesota Timberwolves and Anthony Edwards.
• 5:00 PM EST – NBA Christmas Special presented by State Farm: Philadelphia 76ers at Boston Celtics
  Reigning NBA champion Boston Celtics and Jayson Tatum host the Philadelphia 76ers and Joel Embiid.
• 8:00 PM EST – NBA Christmas Special presented by State Farm: Los Angeles Lakers at Golden State Warriors
  Icons collide at 8 p.m. as the Golden State Warriors and Stephen Curry host the Los Angeles Lakers and LeBron James.
• 10:30 PM EST – NBA Christmas Special Presented by State Farm: Denver Nuggets at Phoenix Suns
  ABC’s NBA Christmas coverage culminates with the Phoenix Suns and Kevin Durant hosting the Denver Nuggets and Nikola Jokić.

National Hockey League

NHL regular season action on ESPN+ continues in December with nine exclusive games highlighted by the Red Wings at Bruins and Oilers at Knights (December 3), Penguins at Rangers (December 6) and Maple Leafs at Devils (December 10).

In addition to exclusive games on ESPN+/Hulu, 177 out-of-market games will be available in December via NHL Power Play on ESPN+ – included in all ESPN+ subscriptions – throughout the season.

NHL Power Play games include the choice of two separate live streams with home or away team commentary, as well as Canadian national presentations of Hockey Night in Canada, giving fans a local experience no matter where they are in the US. Replays of every NHL regular season and playoff game on ABC, ESPN, NHL Network and TNT are also available to stream on NHL Power Play on ESPN+.

Secondary school

• Date/Event: December 14 Division II Semifinals and Division III Quarterfinals
• Date/Event: December 21 Division II Championship, Division III Semifinals and FCS Semifinals

In December, ESPN+ will stream 87 games, including 22 FCS, 27 DII and 38 DIII games.

As the FCS Playoffs get underway, ESPN+ will stream 22 games, including eight first-round games and eight second-round games, all quarterfinals – including one exclusively on ESPN+ – and both semifinals.

For DII, ESPN+ will exclusively stream twelve first-round matches and eight second-round matches, four quarterfinals and both semifinals. The championship game will also be available on ESPN+.

For DIII, ESPN+ will exclusively stream eight first-round games, 16 second-round games, eight third-round matchups, all quarterfinals and both semifinals and simulcast the Stagg Bowl in January.

More than 1,330 college basketball games on ESPN+ in December

ESPN+ will stream more than 600 men’s and 730 women’s basketball games in December, including several Top 10 teams and recent national champions. Men’s matchups include Jackson State at No. 5 Iowa State (Dec. 8), Nicholls at No. 3 Gonzaga (Dec. 18), TCU at No. 17 Arizona (Dec. 30) and West Virginia at No. 1 Kansas (Dec. 31). Women’s matches to look out for include No. 5 UCLA at Hawaii (Dec. 1), No. 4 Texas at Richmond (Dec. 15), No. 7 LSU at UIC (Dec. 19) and No. 14 Duke at South Florida (December 21) .

UFC

UFC 310: Pantoja vs. Asakura (pay-per-view)

Reigning flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja will take on newcomer Kai Asakura to defend his title in the main event title fight of UFC 310 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in December. Additionally, undefeated title contenders meet in the co-main event, where Shavkhat Rakhmonov puts his perfect record of 18-0 with 18 finishes on the line against undefeated Irish star Ian Machado Garry. UFC 310 is available exclusively on ESPN+ PPV.

UFC Fight Night:

• Event/Time: Covington vs. Buckley, December 14

Highest rank:

• Event/Time: Navarrete vs. Valdez 2, December 7
• Event/Time: Munguia vs. Surace, December 14
• Event/Time: Inoue vs. Goodman, December 24

Formula 1

Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Grand Prix

ESPN+ will stream the Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Grand Prix commercial for free from the Yas Marina Circuit on Yas Island, near Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. The race will take place on December 8, 2024.

Inside the college football playoffs

• Date: December 17 (Episode 1), December 27 (Episode 2)

Inside the College Football Playoff is an ESPN Original that gives viewers an exclusive, all-access behind-the-scenes look at the new playoff expansion and the elite College Football teams of 2024.

E60: Second Wind: The Story of Boomer and Gunnar Esiason

NFL MVP, Monday Night Football commentator and host of New York City’s highest-rated sports talk show, Boomer Esiason has been in the spotlight. And he has used his platform to shed light on his crusade: finding a cure for a deadly disease and saving his son’s life. A story about hope, human ingenuity and how a medical miracle changed the lives of a quarterback, his son and thousands of people around the world.

What are you looking forward to watching on ESPN in December? Let me know on social media!

Roger Palmer

Roger has been a Disney fan since childhood and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney parks all over the world and has an extensive collection of Disney films and collectibles. He is the owner of What’s On Disney Plus & DisKingdom. Email: [email protected] Twitter: Twitter.com/RogPalmerUK Facebook: Facebook.com/rogpalmeruk