ESPN, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery to launch joint sports streaming platform

Feb 06, 2024 in "ESPN"

Forum Forums Tweet Share Tweet Share

Gallery / 1 Photo
ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery Streaming Sports Service

Posted: Tuesday February 6, 2024 5:30pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

ESPN, FOX, and Warner Bros. Discovery are forming a joint venture to create a new streaming sports service for a US launch in fall 2024.

This platform will combine their sports networks, direct-to-consumer sports services, and rights, featuring content from major professional and college sports leagues.

ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery Streaming Sports Service

The service is still under negotiation and will be accessible via a new app, and can be bundled with Disney+, Hulu, and Max. It aims to offer a comprehensive range of sports content, targeting fans outside the traditional pay TV bundle. The service will include channels like ESPN, FOX Sports, and Warner Bros. Discovery's sports networks.

Each company will own an equal third of the venture, contributing sports content on a non-exclusive basis. The service will have a distinct brand and be overseen by an independent management team.

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 said, "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, said, "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."

Further details, including pricing, are yet to be announced.

The new service will stream thousands of high-profile sporting events including:

Pro Football

NFL | UFL

Basketball

NBA | WNBA

Baseball

MLB
Hockey
NHL

College sports

Thousands of games and events, multiple sports, across nearly two dozen conferences, including:

ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Big East, SEC | 40 NCAA Championship Events | NCAA Men’s & Women’s Basketball Tournaments | The College Football Playoff

Golf

PGA Tour | PGA Championship | The Masters | TGL

Grand Slam Tennis

Wimbledon | US Open | Australian Open

Cycling

Giro d'Italia | UCI Mountain Bike World Cup | Giro Donne

Soccer

FIFA World Cup | U.S. Soccer
NWSL | MLS | LA LIGA | Bundesliga | UEFA | CONCACAF

Combat sports

UFC | Top Rank

Auto

Formula 1 | NASCAR | 24 Hours of Le Mans

Discuss on the Forums

Get Walt Disney World News Delivered to Your Inbox

MisterPenguin7 hours ago

https://deadline.com/2024/05/fox-lachlan-murdoch-sports-streaming-jv-name-bundling-1235908540/

LSLSMar 27, 2024

See, but that's my larger question. I don't think that service is going to be able to offer all NFL games, and that was the largest amount that wants it (maybe it can for college?). In fact, I'm not sure any of them will do this outside of maybe hockey (since their streaming is ESPN+). Doesn't the NBA use their own streaming service? Tennis as well. And is MLS AppleTV still? So this would just be nationally televised games and sports shows (which only 3% said they care about).

MisterPenguinMar 27, 2024

https://www.mediaplaynews.com/survey-57-of-sports-fans-willing-to-pay-50-monthly-for-live-streaming-app/

MisterPenguinMar 15, 2024

https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/pete-distad-ceo-sports-streaming-disney-fox-wbd/ @wdwmagic

Disney IrishMar 05, 2024

All details haven't come out yet. So we don't know all the specifics of games, schedules, etc., that will be available on the service. Also NFL Ticket wasn't exclusive, otherwise they would have more than 1.3M subs, only a modest increase from the 1.2M prior to Google buying it. Anyways if you don't see a benefit of having the service, ok then you aren't in the demographic that they will go after. But they clearly do see a benefit to having a more medium priced package that brings more to the consumer than just the single sport services offer today. All I was saying was that I think the 5M in the first 5 years seems low to me. Just like I thought the initial projections for D+ were low as well, which they blew through easily at launch.

LSLSMar 05, 2024

But unless I'm missing something, you won't get the games on it. I can't imagine that any of these groups have the rights to broadcast all out of market games as well with Youtube paying $2 billion a year to have those rights. The only thing that would be affected would be Monday Night football games and maybe a random Peacock only game? So you purchase for your locally televised games (which you can get free over antenna) and Monday Night Football (which you get for $7 a month if you already have Disney +, or $10 a month without).

Disney IrishMar 05, 2024

Well this will be cheaper than Sunday Ticket.

LSLSMar 05, 2024

Right, but you are missing my point. If you want your local team, antenna will get it (outside of if you get one game or two on Sunday/Monday nights). If you want out of market games, Youtube owns Sunday Ticket, so you have to go there. This service will not have all the NFL games on a Sunday.

Disney IrishMar 05, 2024

I've never watched football on Youtube a day in my life, not especially my local team, and I don't know of anyone who has. I'm sure there are plenty that do but just like you can't imagine that many wanting a service like this, I can't image many watching on Youtube either. There are all kinds of fans out there. And I'm sure there are lots out there just like you that don't see a point to this service. But I'm also sure there are lots that do want a service where they get access to multiple sports in one location without paying for a cable package. Anyways I just think the 5M in its first 5 years seems low, I would expect at least double that. But I guess we'll see how it goes.

LSLSMar 05, 2024

But is it justified? Like, as an out of market hockey fan, I certainly don't see the need to watch when my team is on TNT maybe once or twice, and if it's the playoffs and my team that I care for, I will find a way to watch without having this kind of service throughout the year. Hockey has done just an immaculate job (sarcasm here) of making every team think the league is out to get them, and therefore making hockey fans hate nearly every other team (and people don't want to tune in to watch two teams they hate play each other), but a different subject somewhat here) My antenna comment was about football, and you aren't getting those out of market games with this either, that belongs to youtube. I'm also just not convinced there are that kind of fan bases out there. If you don't want to watch your local team, are you really buying this? I mean, if I'm an NHL fan, I need ESPN+. But first question, is there really THAT large an overlap between NHL fan and say MLB fan? Or NBA fan? How many people are big hockey fans, but casual enough basketball fans that they want to be able to watch occasional games on TNT, or random MLB games on TBS? Cause if you are a big MLB fan, does having all these stations matter much when you can spend $150 for the year and see every game not covered under the networks (and again, do you justify $50 to watch the few games you might really want to see you wouldn't otherwise)?

Disney IrishMar 05, 2024

Given that this is essentially more than just ESPN the cost can be justified for the sports fanatic that want more than just local sports. Also I suspect existing ESPN+ subs will get the service at a discount at least initially. Also you're assuming that any of the games on Fox carried over an antenna would be local games that would be cared about by the subscriber, which is not a guarantee. Plenty of times where I'm out of region and I can't see my local teams play, especially NFL, on the local Fox broadcast.

LSLSMar 05, 2024

If they are expecting $35-$50 per month, I'm not sure it is. If you are only paying like $7 add on for ESPN, you really going to shell out another $43 to watch Fox and WB? Keeping in mind any games of Fox you can see over antenna anyways?