The Disney+ website on a laptop in the New York borough of Brooklyn, USA, on Monday, July 18, 2022.
Gabby Jones | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Walt Disneyis ESPN, Fox And Warner Bros. Discovery plan to launch a joint sports streaming service this fall, giving consumers a new way to access top live sports for the first time, the companies said Tuesday.
The platform, which will be owned by a newly founded company with its own management team, does not yet have a name or price. Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery will each own a third of the shares.
Consumers could sign up directly via a new app. Subscribers would also have the option to bundle the product with the companies’ streaming platforms Disney+, Hulu and Max.
The product will be a thinner bundle of linear networks than a standard cable offering, tailored specifically to sports fans. It will include all Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery broadcast and cable networks that carry sports, as well as ESPN+.
From Disney, this includes ESPN and its sister networks such as ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, ESPNEWS, as well as the ABC Broadcast Network. Warner Bros. Discovery’s sports channels are TNT, TBS and TruTV. In addition to FS1, FS2 and BTN, Fox will also include the Fox channel.
The launch of the product will not stop ESPN from offering a full direct-to-consumer streaming product, which Disney is still researching, according to a person familiar with the matter. ESPN previously said it would launch this product this year or next.
The competitors expect to launch the shared service at a time when the value of sports media rights is soaring but viewers have turned away from traditional cable television.
Disney, in particular, suffered from the move away from its ESPN network and looked for new ways to revitalize the business.
This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.
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2024-02-06 22:01:39
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