From WSJ
Fox Corp., ESPN and Warner Bros./Discovery are creating a joint streaming platform to share sports assets, a move that comes as the price of sports rights is dramatically increasing.
The stand-alone service will be available to ESPN+, Hulu and Max subscribers and each company will own one-third of the product, according to people familiar with the matter.
The as-yet unnamed platform is essentially a sport-streaming bundle, said one person with knowledge of the plans. It is expected to launch later this year.
Huge media news: ESPN, Fox, and Warner Bros are planning to launch a joint sports streaming service later this year.
The move will place content from ESPN, TNT, and Fox Sports on a new standalone app and will have significant ramifications for the future of TV sports.
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— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) February 6, 2024
Strange bedfellows.
Curious to see what this ends up being and how much. Fox owns the B1G network. So, if the ESPNs were somehow bundled with Fox/B1G that would pretty much knock out all the needs for OSU football. Of course, including in that mix Paramount+ (CBS), Peacock (NBC), etc.
We’ll see.
[EDIT: Official Press Release]
From the press release:
The offering, scheduled to launch in the fall of 2024, would be made available directly to consumers via a new app. Subscribers would also have the ability to bundle the product, including with Disney+, Hulu and/or Max.
By subscribing to this focused, all-in-one premier sports service, fans would have access to the linear sports networks including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, ESPNEWS, ABC, FOX, FS1, FS2, BTN, TNT, TBS, truTV, as well as ESPN+.
