ESPN, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery announced Tuesday that they will launch a joint sports streaming service this fall, providing consumers with a new way to access marquee live sports for the first time.
The platform, which will be owned by a newly formed company with its own leadership team, has yet to be named or priced. Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery will each have a one-third stake.
Consumers would be able to subscribe directly through the new app. Subscribers would also be able to bundle the product with the companies’ streaming services, Disney+, Hulu, and Max.
The streaming service will include ESPN+ as well as all of Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery’s sports-related broadcast
The product will be a smaller bundle of linear networks than a standard cable package, designed specifically for sports fans. It will include ESPN+ as well as all of Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery’s sports-related broadcast and cable networks. While no price has been set, a logical starting point could be $45 or $50 per month, according to a person familiar with the situation who asked not to be identified because the discussions about the service have been kept private.
ESPN and its sister networks, including ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, ESPNEWS, and the ABC broadcast network, are all owned by Disney. Sports-themed networks owned by Warner Bros. Discovery include TNT, TBS, and TruTV. Fox will include the Fox broadcast stations, FS1, FS2, and BTN.
“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,” Disney CEO Bob Iger said in a statement. “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.”
ESPN will continue to offer a full direct-to-consumer streaming product, which Disney is still researching and plans to launch by 2025, according to a person familiar with the matter. ESPN has previously stated that the product will be released either this year or next.
The competitors plan to launch the joint service at a time when the value of sports media rights is increasing, but viewers have shifted away from traditional cable.
According to people familiar with the situation, Comcast’s NBCUniversal and Paramount Global were not approached about participating in the joint venture. According to one of the sources, NBCUniversal would have been hesitant to separate its sports networks from its other entertainment cable channels.
The new skinny bundle may reduce cable subscriptions for both NBCUniversal and Paramount Global. Both companies offer streaming services—Peacock and Paramount+ — that include additional sports, such as live NFL games. This may mitigate NBCUniversal and Paramount Global’s potential revenue losses.
Disney, in particular, has sought new ways to reinvent the sports industry and ESPN, including pursuing strategic alliances with the National Football League and the National Basketball League.
