In a historic and breakthrough move, Walt Disney’s ESPN, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery—the three heavyweight players in the sports streaming sector, are planning for a joint venture to launch a sports streaming service sometime later this year.
Joint venture of ESPN, Fox and WB: a standalone app to tailor the experience of sports fans
The new streaming platform, which is yet to be named or priced, will have a freshly formed company as its owner, along with its own leadership team. It will also feature a tripartite stakeholder structure, with Disney, Fox, and WB owning each of the three parts.
A new app for the platform is also under development through which consumers will subscribe to the service. Alongside the regular NFL, UFL, NBA, WNBA and NHL, the service will feature a multitude of sports- such as college sports, golf, tennis, cycling, soccer, combat sports and motorsports.
From NCAA basketball, PGA tour, US Open to the FIFA World Cup, UFC, and Formula 1, the streaming service has been specially tailored for the sports fans, a reminisce of what Cable TV used to be.
Under the Disney umbrella, the platform will feature ESPN along with ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, ESPNEWS, and also the ABC broadcast network. TNT, TBS and TruTV will be covered under the WB Discovery’s networks, while Fox will have their FS1, FS2 and BTN along with their own broadcast station.
Below here is the full list of events that the platform will feature:
- Pro Football: NFL | UFL
- Basketball: NBA | WNBA
- Baseball: MLB
- Hockey: NHL
- College Sports: 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 | LALIGA | Bundesliga | UEFA | CONCACAF
- Combat Sports: UFC | Top Rank
- Auto: Formula 1 | NASCAR | 24 Hours of Le Mans
While the price of the service is still unknown, it is expected to fall in the range of $45 to $50 per month, keeping an eye on the competitors’ pricing strategies in the sports streaming sector. A lower introductory price is also expected to be offered at the time of the launch.
“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 was quoted in a recent 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.” [H/T CNBC]
