ESPN, FOX, Warner Bros. Discovery Announce Plans To Launch Joint Direct-to-Consumer Sports Streaming Service

The service will be a new build and is expected to launch in the fall of this year

In a historic announcement on Tuesday, ESPN, FOX, and Warner Bros. Discovery shared that they will team up to build and launch a direct-to-consumer sports streaming service by the end of 2024.

The three major sports broadcasting entities have reached an “understanding on principal terms” to form a new joint venture to build a new platform from the ground up and bring together each of the companies’ sports portfolios to a single streaming service. That includes massive sports properties including the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, college sports (including football and the College Football Playoff), the FIFA World Cup, U.S. Soccer, MLS, the NWSL, golf and tennis majors, UFC, Formula 1, NASCAR, and many others.

Through this service, the announcement also stated that subscribers would have access to live sports content on linear networks including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, ESPNEWS, ABC, ESPN+, FOX, FS1, FS2, BTN, TNT, TBS, and truTV.

It is scheduled to launch in the fall of 2024 and would be made available directly to consumers via a new app. Subscribers are said to be able to to bundle the product, including with Disney+, Hulu and/or Max. Pricing for the service will be announced at a later date.

The service is said to be a brand new product and will be built and operated by an independent management team. ESPN, FOX, and WBD would each own one-third of the joint venture, have equal board representation, and license their sports content to the joint venture on a non-exclusive basis.

“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,” Bob Iger, Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company said in the official announcement. “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.”

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

“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,” added David Zaslav, Chief Executive Officer of Warner Bros. Discovery. “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.”

The formation of the pay service is subject to the negotiation of definitive agreements amongst the parties.