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ESPN, FOX, & Warner Brothers/Discovery to lauch a new sports streaming platform

DENDude

By DENDude
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DENDude Managing Editor

DENDude 197

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CNBC is reporting this evening that ESPN, FOX & Warner Brothers/Discovery are going to launch a yet to be named streaming service for sports, don't know much more than that yet.  (Notably absent from this are Comcast's NBC Universal  &  Capital Amusements CBS).

 

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/06/espn-fox-and-warner-bros-discovery-to-launch-joint-sports-streaming-platform-this-year.html

 

 

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T.L. Hughes Station Group CEO

T.L. Hughes 834

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5 hours ago, DENDude said:

CNBC is reporting this evening that ESPN, FOX & Warner Brothers/Discovery are going to launch a yet to be named streaming service for sports, don't know much more than that yet.  (Notably absent from this are Comcast's NBC Universal  &  Capital Amusements CBS).

 

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/06/espn-fox-and-warner-bros-discovery-to-launch-joint-sports-streaming-platform-this-year.html

 

 

From what I took of it, the service in concept seems like a hybrid of Fubo (with far fewer entertainment-based networks with little or no sports content, seemingly what it would have been if entertainment networks weren't bundled into its carriage contracts) and DAZN. On top of it, they apparently plan to incorporate ESPN+ content onto the service.

 

That said, even though ABC and Fox are among the networks whose sports content is being offered, I'm not sure if it's planning to run their full linear feeds or just the sports events they air (a la Max's Bleacher Report add-on, which is basically one to four part-time feeds only active when simulcasts of sports events from TBS, TNT and truTV and original daily sports talk shows air).

 

There's also the matter of whether this replaces ESPN's original plan to offer an expanded standalone streaming service (mixing programming from the ESPN linear networks and ESPN+), and if ESPN/Disney partnering with Fox Corporation and Warner Bros. Discovery (which was done very much on the DL since there were no scoops on this partnership before the announcement) was its way forward to getting a service along those lines off the ground.


Also, it's National Amusements, not Capital Amusements.

Edited by T.L. Hughes
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CircleSeven Station Group CEO

CircleSeven 1946

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2 hours ago, T.L. Hughes said:

There's also the matter of whether this replaces ESPN's original plan to offer an expanded standalone streaming service (mixing programming from the ESPN linear networks and ESPN+), and if ESPN/Disney partnering with Fox Corporation and Warner Bros. Discovery (which was done very much on the DL since there were no scoops on this partnership before the announcement) was its way forward to getting a service along those lines off the ground.

 

From that same article, it seems that the Worldwide Leader is going to follow through with those plans...... 

Quote

The launch of the product will not stop ESPN from offering a full direct-to-consumer streaming product, which Disney is still researching and remains on schedule to debut by 2025, according to a person familiar with the matter. ESPN has previously said it plans on releasing that product this year or next year.

 

Edited by CircleSeven
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T.L. Hughes Station Group CEO

T.L. Hughes 834

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5 hours ago, nickp said:

This is interesting to note considering FOX is the only one of the three without a standalone streaming service

Of course, had Rupert Murdoch not sold 20th Century Fox and the FX Networks, National Geographic Channels and Fox International Channels properties to Disney (along with the Fox Sports Regional Networks that became Bally Sports under Sinclair), they likely would have had a robust SVOD platform instead of relying on Hulu and the in-house AVOD service Tubi (which Fox Corporation bought in 2021 to have some mainstream streaming presence).

 

I honestly think it was a mistake on the Murdoch's part to not keep those properties, because it robbed them of creating a strong streaming competitor, because it turned the successor Fox Corporation into a runt while giving Disney bigger market share in TV and film production and distribution as well as linear distribution, and because all that sale did was make Fox Corporation defined in the public by Fox News instead of the more reputable and less controversial properties it used to own and still owns.

Edited by T.L. Hughes
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Action Newsroom Station Group CEO

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Meanwhile, Disney announced a standalone ESPN DTC streaming service that will launch next fall (or as soon as next August). It'll air feeds of ESPN networks and programming, and interactive features like stats and score. Yes, it's different from ESPN+.

 

https://deadline.com/2024/02/disney-espn-streaming-launch-date-bob-iger-1235818372/

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SDHIll1980 Health Reporter

SDHIll1980 46

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As per Variety (and a few other sources), the price point for Venu Sports has been set: $42.99 per month.  It'll be a seven-day free trial for those who sign-up at launch (date still TBD), and the monthly fee will be locked-in for one year.

 

Subscribers will have access to fourteen networks: ABC, ESPN (including 2, U, News, and the ACC and SEC networks, plus access to ESPN+), Fox (including Big Ten Network and FS1 and 2), and Turner's TBS, TNT, and TruTV.  Besides ESPN+ on-demand content, Venu will also offer the same type of content from Fox and Turner's sports libraries of documentaries and studio shows.  Keep note that Venu would still need the proper regulatory approval, but it's expected to start operation when the NFL regular-season begins.

 

According to ESPN, those who subscribe to Venu can also include it with a new bundle package with Disney+, Hulu, and Max (currently starting at $16.99/month).

 

Edited by SDHIll1980
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tyrannical bastard Station Group CEO

tyrannical bastard 3787

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Something seems wrong when you have three large companies coming together to offer a bundled package of sports content.

Almost like you need an independent operator to carry the content independently....much like a CABLE COMPANY.

 

I've said it a million times, this reeks of the vertical integration that the movie studios once had with their movie houses.  This is why they were broken up and why Viacom was separated from CBS in the 1970s to syndicate it's content.

 

And here we are today, where someone else's content on another streaming service is more of a token offering.

Edited by tyrannical bastard
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