ESPN, Fox Corp.and Warner Bros. Discovery are teaming up to create a supersize sports-streaming service that will offer content from all major leagues, a deal that will reshape the sports and media landscape.
The as-yet-unnamed service will be offered directly to consumers, who would be able to stream a host of channels that are heavy in live sports, including ESPN, TNT, Fox, FS1 and ABC, the companies said in a statement, following a report in The Wall Street Journal about the new venture.
Each of the companies will have one-third ownership of the new service, which is expected to launch in the fall. The companies didn’t announce pricing.
The chief executives of Fox, Warner Bros. Discovery and Disney—ESPN’s DIS majority owner—said the new offering would increase choice for fans and give those who have cut the cord to traditional pay-TV a new sportscentric service.
The service will give users access to some of the highest-profile sporting content, including games from the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League.
The decision comes as ESPN is charting a streaming future, with plans to make its flagship channel available direct to consumer in the next two to three years or once its reach in the cable TV world falls below 50 million households, the Journal reported.
ESPN and Warner Bros. Discovery’s TNT are renegotiating their rights packages with the NBA, one of their most valuable assets. Some experts expect the NBA to command three times its last deal, which would mean a rights package worth about $78 billion over a decade.
The deal emerged after talks that started about four months ago, with ESPN chief Jimmy Pitaro and Iger focusing on bundling with other media companies on sports, people familiar with the matter said. Iger then reached out to Fox Chief Executive Lachlan Murdoch, who had engaged in similar talks with Warner Bros. Discovery Chief Executive David Zaslav.
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