ESPN, Fox, And Warner Bros. Discovery Joining Forces On New Sports Streaming Venture That Could Kill The Cable Bundle Once and For All

Game on! ESPN, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery are joining forces to create a joint sports streaming service.

Disney+, Hulu, and Max subscribers may “bundle” the new service with any of their existing subscriptions to the three streaming services, or singularly subscribe to the new venture through what’s described in a Tuesday (Feb. 6) press release as “a new standalone app.” Meanwhile, ESPN, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery will each hold an equal share (one-third) of the joint service.

The name and the cost of the new venture have yet to be announced, but the service is slated to be launched this fall. Said service will grant its customers access to “linear sports networks including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, ESPNEWS, ABC, FOX, FS1, FS2, BTN, TNT, TBS, [and] truTV,” in addition to ESPN+.

The NFL, NBA, NHL, PGA, and Formula 1 are among the premier sporting leagues and associations whose match-ups will be broadcast on the app.

Disney’s CEO Bob Iger deemed the new service’s launch “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,” he continued. “I’m grateful to [ESPN Chairman] 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.”

FOX Executive Chair and CEO Lachlan Murdoch said that they’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,” he added.

Warner Bros. Discovery’s CEO David Zaslav highlighted that his company’s “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.”

“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,” he said.