Current:Home > FinanceESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. teaming up to create a new sports streaming service -WealthX
ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. teaming up to create a new sports streaming service
Chainkeen Exchange View
Date:2025-04-10 14:42:05
ESPN, Fox Corp. and Warner Bros. Discovery said on Tuesday they are joining forces to launch a streaming sports service.
The platform will include offerings from at least 15 networks and all four major professional sports leagues. The paid service is scheduled to debut this fall via a new app, although subscribers will be able to bundle it with Disney+, Hulu and Max, according to a statement from Warner Bros. Discovery.
Each company will own a one-third stake in the joint venture, the statement said.
The plans come amid increased competition in the business of streaming sporting events, with industry giants including Amazon and Netflix recently striking deals to add sports content for their streaming customers. In announcing the new venture, Walt Disney-owned ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. said the new platform would provide access to thousands of high-profile sporting events, from NFL games to Formula 1 racing.
With viewers' attentions split between TV, cable, streaming services and social media platforms, sports programming remains a draw, experts note.
"Sports rights remain the only investment that guarantees a steady supply of must-see content and will therefore likely remain a key part of any streamer's growth strategy," analysts with investment advisory firm MoffettNathanson Research said in a recent report.
The new platform will include games from the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, WNBA, NASCAR and college sports, including the men's and women's NCAA basketball Tournament, as well as golf, tennis and the FIFA World Cup. It will include offerings from 15 TV and cable networks: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN+, ESPNEWS, ESPNU, SEC Network, ACC Network, ABC, FOX, FS1, FS2, Big Ten Network, TNT, TBS and truTV.
"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 said in a 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."
The announcement of the bundle also comes as ESPN and Warner Bros. Discovery are preparing to enter negotiations to renew their NBA rights, which expire at the end of next season. ESPN has also been searching for strategic partners as it prepares to launch a direct-to-consumer product in the next year or two.
The companies said that more details would be released later, including pricing.
—With reporting by the Associated Press.
- In:
- Warner Bros.
- Disney
- ESPN
Aimee Picchi is the associate managing editor for CBS MoneyWatch, where she covers business and personal finance. She previously worked at Bloomberg News and has written for national news outlets including USA Today and Consumer Reports.
TwitterveryGood! (261)
Related
- Federal hiring is about to get the Trump treatment
- How 'Abbott Elementary' helps teachers process the absurd realities of their job
- Jeremy Renner attends the premiere of new series just months after snowplow accident
- Mary Quant, fashion designer who styled the Swinging Sixties, dies at 93
- Arkansas State Police probe death of woman found after officer
- Jonathan Majors on his meteoric rise through Hollywood
- 'Better Call Saul' star's new series 'Lucky Hank' makes a midlife crisis compelling
- In 'Above Ground,' Clint Smith meditates on a changing world, personal and public
- Toyota to invest $922 million to build a new paint facility at its Kentucky complex
- Louis Tomlinson Holds Hands With Model Sofie Nyvang After Eleanor Calder Breakup
Ranking
- Newly elected West Virginia lawmaker arrested and accused of making terroristic threats
- See Mark Consuelos Join Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest on Live After Co-Host Announcement
- 75 Presidents' Day Sales to Shop Today: Kate Spade, SKIMS, Nordstrom Rack, Fenty Beauty, and More
- Marvel's 'Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur' is a stone cold groove
- Military service academies see drop in reported sexual assaults after alarming surge
- Denise Lajimodiere is named North Dakota's first Native American poet laureate
- 'Heart Sutra' is a satire that skewers religious institutions without mocking faith
- Our 2023 Oscars Recap
Recommendation
Tree trimmer dead after getting caught in wood chipper at Florida town hall
Suki Waterhouse Shares Rare Insight Into Romance With Boyfriend Robert Pattinson
Gwyneth Paltrow appears in a Utah court for a trial over a 2016 ski crash
After 'Felicity' and a stint as a spy, Keri Russell embraces her new 'Diplomat' role
Retirement planning: 3 crucial moves everyone should make before 2025
Biden taps Lady Gaga to co-chair an arts advisory committee that dissolved under Trump
A music school uniting Syrian and Turkish cultures survives the massive earthquake
The prosecutor drops charges against 'Rick and Morty' co-creator Justin Roiland