ESPN, FOX, and Warner Bros. Discovery Announce Collaboration for Launching a New Sports Streaming Service By this Year End
In an unexpected move, ESPN, FOX, and Warner Bros. Discovery have unveiled plans to collaborate and launch a new sports streaming platform by the end of 2024.
All three broadcasting companies have arrived a common understanding on principal terms, to form a joint venture and work towards developing a new platform that would enable them to bring their portfolio content into a single streaming platform.
Their content portfolio includes events from NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, college sports (including football and the College Football Playoff), the FIFA World Cup, U.S. Soccer, MLS, the NWSL, golf and tennis majors, UFC, Formula 1, NASCAR, and many others.
Subscribers can stream live sports events across the three networks, including ESPN channels, ABC, the FOX Sports suite, BTN, TNT, TBS, and truTV.
The platform is set to launch in the autumn of 2024. The service will be accessible through a newly developed app, offering potential bundling options with Disney+, Hulu, and Max. More information regarding the subscription fees will be disclosed later.
This service is envisioned as an entirely new offering, managed by a separate team and equally owned by ESPN, FOX, and Warner Bros. Discovery. Each will contribute their sports content to the venture on a non-exclusive basis, ensuring a diverse and rich library.
Bob Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Company, expressed his enthusiasm: “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.”
Similarly, Lachlan Murdoch, CEO of FOX, shared his excitement, stating, “We’re pumped to bring the FOX Sports portfolio to this new and exciting platform,”
David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, reiterated the company’s goal to widen its content reach. He 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.”
Ragul Thangavel
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