ESPN, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery Form a Joint Venture for New Streaming Sports Platform

FOX, Warner Bros. Discovery, and ESPN, a division of the Walt Disney Company, have come to an agreement on the main terms of forming a new joint venture. They will develop an inventive new platform to house an exciting new streaming sports service. Major college and professional games that are typically only broadcast on traditional TV will be available on the sports-focused streaming service.

New streaming sports service 

The platform combines the sports networks, select direct-to-consumer (DTC) sports services, and sports rights portfolios of the companies, which include college and professional sports content from all the major leagues. Final agreements between the parties must be negotiated before the pay service can be formed. The product will be offered to customers directly through a new app. It is slated to go on sale in the fall of 2024. Additionally, subscribers have the option to bundle the product with Disney+, Hulu, and/or Max. The service would be rebranded and run by a separate management group.

Key Features of the new standalone streaming service

Each company will own one-third of the service. We still need to decide on the service’s name and price. The objective is to entice viewers who do not have a pay TV subscription. They will provide them with access to all the sports included in that package. All three companies’ standalone subscription streaming services will feature an unparalleled quantity of live sports programming from their respective sports networks. Its main source of income will be from user subscription fees. On its own networks, each network will still sell advertisements that conflict with its content. For the joint venture, there will be equal board representation for each of the three participating companies. Each of them will grant the joint venture a non-exclusive license to use their sports content.

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Service catered specifically towards sports fans

To give sports fans a fresh and unique experience, the platform would compile content to provide a wide variety of dynamic sports content. Fans could access linear networks, such as ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, ESPNEWS, ABC, FOX, FS1, FS2, BTN, TNT, TBS, truTV, and ESPN+, by subscribing to this targeted, all-in-one premium sports service. Among the most watched programs that will be included in the package, it will also include Monday Night Football.

Along with NASCAR, the PGA Tour, Grand Slams of tennis, and more, the new service will also broadcast games from the National Football League (NFL), Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the National Hockey League (NHL). Users of Max, Hulu, and Disney Plus will also be able to bundle the new service.

Sports streaming landscape

As some leagues choose to keep broadcasting games on conventional cable networks and others have negotiated agreements with streaming services, the landscape of sports streaming has grown more fragmented. The live sports add-on for Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max streaming service debuted last year and costs an additional $9.99 per month. By combining some of the biggest sports networks, viewers may have access to even more streaming options that aren’t restricted to a smaller number of sports and leagues. It might produce the kind of incredible sports streaming service that fans of sports would love to have in the terrible current climate. Or it might just be a more costly, unfinished, and glitch-filled version of what we already had with cable TV.

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Here’s what they said

Bob Iger, Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company said,

The launch of this new streaming sports service is a significant moment for Disney and ESPN, a major win for sports fans, and an important step forward for the media business. This means the full suite of ESPN channels will be available to consumers alongside the sports programming of other industry leaders as part of a differentiated sports-centric service. I’m grateful to Jimmy Pitaro and the team at ESPN, who are at the forefront of innovating on behalf of consumers to create new offerings with more choice and greater value.

Lachlan Murdoch, Executive Chair and Chief Executive Officer of FOX added,

We’re pumped to bring the FOX Sports portfolio to this new and exciting platform. We believe the service will provide passionate fans outside of the traditional bundle an array of amazing sports content all in one place.

David Zaslav, Chief Executive Officer of Warner Bros. Discovery, stated,

At WBD, our ambition is always to connect our leading content and brands with as many viewers as possible, and this exciting joint venture and the unparalleled combination of marquee sports rights and access to the greatest sporting events in the world allows us to do just that. This new sports service exemplifies our ability as an industry to drive innovation and provide consumers with more choice, enjoyment and value and we’re thrilled to deliver it to sports fans.

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