Disney, Fox and Warner Plan Launch of Combined Sports Streaming Service

By Gary Symons

TLL Editor in Chief

Disney, Warner Bros. and Fox are changing the game in a big way, with plans to launch a combined sports streaming service.

Similar to the Hulu service that was jointly owned, this new and yet-to-be-named service would be a joint venture combining the sports divisions of all three partners.

For Disney, the deal would see its subsidiary ESPN joining forces with Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery. All three have their own sports networks, and the deal would also see some direct-to-consumer sports services offered that could include content from all major professional sports leagues and college sports.

The partners say the new offering is scheduled for launch in the fall of 2024, and would be served up to customers via a new app on streaming boxes.

The parties also say they will offer deals on bundles, so a sports fan could combine their sports service with Disney+, Hulu, and/or Max.

According to a joint statement, “… each entity would own one-third of the JV, have equal board representation, and license their sports content to the joint venture on a non-exclusive basis, (and) the service would have a new brand with an independent management team.”

“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,” said Bob Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Company. “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.”

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The platform would aggregate content to offer fans an extensive, dynamic lineup of sports content, aiming to provide a new and differentiated experience to serve sports fans, particularly those outside of the traditional pay TV bundle. However, 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+.

What’s particularly interesting about the joint venture is that it largely mirrors the concept behind Hulu, an early streaming service that aggregated content from a number of different networks who invested in the service.

Hulu was announced in March 2007 with AOL, NBCUniversal, MSN, Myspace and Yahoo! planned as the initial distribution partners, although it later turned out that AOL and NBC had most of the content. Providence Equity, owner of Newport Television, joined the consortium in July 2007 after buying a 10% interest, and then Disney entered the ring with plans to offer content from ABC, ESPN, and The Disney Channel.

Over time, however, the consortium turned into ownership by a single company. In 2019 Disney made its move to acquire the remaining shares of Hulu. In March that year it acquired 21st Century Fox, giving it a 60% majority stake in Hulu, and a month later WarnerMedia sold its 10% stake, leaving Disney with 67% and Comcast with 33%. In May, Disney and Comcast announced they had agreed to a deal that would see Disney purchase the remaining 33% of Hulu by 2024, in a deal that is in the final stages of closing.

In this case, however, the new sports streaming service could be a more lasting joint venture, as it solves a major problem facing sports fans, who find it difficult to justify paying multiple streamers to find the content they want. David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, says the deal is meant to better serve sports fans with a service that meets all of their needs.

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“At WBD, our ambition is always to connect our leading content and brands with as many viewers as possible, and this exciting joint venture and the unparalleled combination of marquee sports rights and access to the greatest sporting events in the world allows us to do just that,” Zaslav says. “This new sports service exemplifies our ability as an industry to drive innovation and provide consumers with more choice, enjoyment and value and we’re thrilled to deliver it to sports fans.”

Not surprisingly, a complex licensing deal is at the heart of the joint venture, which analysts say is a way for the partners to recoup revenues they’ve lost from cable ‘cord cutters’ who moved to streaming outlets as their primary source of video entertainment. The new venture will pay its three corporate parents for licensing rights, essentially creating a new distribution partner. Those partners will each own an equal stake, which may allow the venture to last, rather than be taken over by a single partner as happened with Hulu.

Pricing will be announced at a later date, but sources told the entertainmet publication Variety that “the companies will likely set a monthly subscription that is more than a consumer would pay for a standalone regional sports network, which costs $20 to $30 per month, and less than a larger digital programming package such as Hulu + Live TV or YouTube TV, which cost around $75 to $80 per month.”

In return, viewers will receive the most comprehensive sports coverage available, says Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch.

“We’re pumped to bring the FOX Sports portfolio to this new and exciting platform,” Murdoch said. “We believe the service will provide passionate fans outside of the traditional bundle an array of amazing sports content all in one place.”

The partners have released a list showing which sports leagues and college events will be included under the new service, and it is definitely a major improvement for sports fans, as it includes the ‘Big 4’ of the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL, but also a wide selection of college sports, top golf events, tennis, soccer (football), auto racing and combat sports, including the UFC.

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