In what might be the final nail in the coffin for traditional cable TV, Disney’s ESPN, Fox Sports, and Warner Bros. Discovery announced a new joint streaming platform that will feature content from each of their sports networks. The service will launch this fall and will be available through an unnamed app that will soon be available to download.
The streaming sports service would give subscribers access to ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, ESPNEWS, ABC, FOX, FS1, FS2, BTN, TNT, TBS, truTV, and ESPN+. Disney says that subscribers will also be able to bundle the new service with Disney+, Hulu, and Max, depending on what other services they subscribe to.
This will change the way that we all watch sports forever. Other content moved to streaming as more and more consumers cut the cord, but sports have continued to straddle both worlds. NFL and college football games still air on CBS, NBC, Fox, and ESPN every season, while the vast majority of NBA, MLB, and NHL games air on regional sports networks.
Now, seemingly all of those games will be accessible through a single subscription.
According to Disney’s press release, the new streaming service will feature the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and WNBA, in addition to thousands of college games and events, PGA Tour tournaments, US Soccer matches, tennis championships, UFC, Formula 1, and more.
Each of the three companies will own one-third of the new joint venture, which will have a new brand with its own independent management team. Disney says that more details, such as pricing and a release date, will be announced in the future.
