If you thought that the streaming video market was going to slow down, think again. Today, in a surprise move, Disney"s ESPN, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery announced plans to jointly launch a new streaming service in the US that would combine all of the sports-themed content that"s shown on the ESPN, Fox Sports, and TNT networks.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the streaming service will include live sports from tons of professional and college leagues, including the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, and more. ESPN and Warner Bros. already have the rights to show most of the NHL and NBA games, and all three companies have most of the rights to show MLB games, so a joint streaming service that has access to all that sports content could be a game changer (pun intended) in the live sports streaming space.
The new streaming service, which does not yet have a name, would be jointly owned by ESPN, Fox, and Warner Bros Discovery. It is currently scheduled to launch sometime in the fall in the US, but pricing has yet to be revealed. Subscribers to ESPN+, Hulu, and Max will also be able to access the service via a discounted bundle deal.
This move comes as more and more live sports are finding their way to streaming services. It also means that people who love live sports, but who also want to cut the cord from their cable or satellite TV service, will be able to do so with this new service in theory.
This will also likely put pressure on other streaming services that already offer live sports. Paramount+ will be offering a live stream of CBS Sports"s NFL Super Bowl 58 broadcast this coming Sunday, and CBS also broadcasts Sunday afternoon NFL games that are streamed by Paramount+ Comcast"s Peacock streams Sunday Night Football via NBC. Both Peacock and Paramount+ also live streams a number of European football/soccer leagues.
Amazon Prime Video paid billions a couple of years ago to get access to the NFL"s Thursday Night Football games. Apple TV+ got access to MLB Friday Night Baseball games, and in 2023 it was the only place to watch Major League Soccer games.