A sports bundle is coming to the streaming world

Sports fans are getting their own screaming streaming bundle of joy. Disney’s ESPN, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery are launching a jointly owned sports streaming platform this fall, the companies announced yesterday.

The deets:

• No name or subscription price has been announced. Each company owns one-third of the newly created entity.
• The platform’s content will be specifically tailored to sports fans. Subscriptions provide access to all the broadcast and cable networks owned by Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery that carry sports, along with ESPN+. Collectively, the networks have rights to all of the major professional sporting league events, including the NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, the major college sports divisions, and more.
• While consumers will be able to subscribe directly via a new app, they’ll also have the ability to bundle the sports product with the companies’ streaming platforms (Disney+, Hulu, and Max).

🤔 Is this cable’s actual death knell?... The TV seesaw: As streaming usage has gone up, cable subscriptions have gone down. But there are still a few holdouts, and data indicates the ability to watch live sports is a major reason why. According to a 2023 CableTV.com survey, ~41% of people who still pay for cable say they do so in order to watch live events, including sports, entertainment award shows, and news.