KEY FACTS
ESPN, Fox Corp. and Warner Bros. Discovery are teaming up on the new platform that will include major college and professional sporting events, including NFL, NBA, MLB, College Sports, UFC, the FIFA World Cup and more, according to a press release.
The new service will be available to subscribers of ESPN+, Hulu and Max, and each of the three companies will own one-third of the entity.
The new platform—which doesn’t yet have a name or pricing structure—is expected to launch in fall 2024 and will combine each company’s sports offerings, making them available in one place and working to give “a new and differentiated experience to serve sports fans, particularly those outside of the traditional pay TV bundle.”
Forbes has reached out to the three media companies for comment.
KEY BACKGROUND
Sports have been migrating to the streaming world in recent months as cable television viewership continues to drop. Amazon spent an estimated $1 billion in March 2021 to partner with the NFL, for example, for the streaming rights to Thursday Night Football games. In an effort to be “the most complete streaming service,” Discovery got the rights to stream the MLB playoffs, some NBA and NHL games and more on Max last year, CNN reported. Disney CEO Bob Iger has said in the past that they’re working to move ESPN from its role in linear TV to “the preeminent digital sports platform,” the Hollywood Reporter reported late last year.
TANGENT
Earlier this week, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said people won’t see a streaming-only Super Bowl in his time. When asked if one could happen in the future, he said “one of the secrets of our success is we are really committed to broadcast television,” adding 90% of NFL games are on broadcast, Sports Illustrated reported.