Three rivals in that of ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. are officially coming together to offer a joint streaming service that could revolutionize the sports media world as we know it.
According to a press release from ESPN, the streaming service will be released in the fall of 2024. The following leagues are expected to be included in its coverage.
- NFL
- NBA
- MLB
- NHL
- WNBA
- NASCAR
- College sports
- UFC
- PGA Tour
- Grand Slam tennis
- FIFA World Cup
“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. 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. I’m grateful to Jimmy Pitaro and the team at ESPN, who are at the forefront of innovating on behalf of consumers to create new offerings with more choice and greater value.”
The Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger said in a statement
The service will be provided via a new app. Subscribers would also have the ability to bundle with Disney+, Hulu and/or Max. No price has been set at this point.
“We’re pumped to bring the FOX Sports portfolio to this new and exciting platform. We believe the service will provide passionate fans outside of the traditional bundle an array of amazing sports content all in one place,” CEO of FOX Lachlan Murdoch said in a statement.
The ramifications here are real. ESPN and FOX will be transferring a lot of their live coverage to a streaming service, impacting the consumer in a big way. It remains to be seen whether Monday Night Football and other big events will be impacted.
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