LAS VEGAS — One day, talented TV executives will unite and bring their shows under one roof. It will solve all your sports viewing problems. They call it a cable.
This new ESPN, Fox, Warner Bros. Discovery Channel joint venture isn’t it. At least not yet.
The three biggest brands in sports joining forces this fall remain significant, providing fans with another option. The great realignment is coming, but it’s far from settled.
For consumers, you won’t need This project will be named later, and my initial bet is that most of you will choose this option. The service will be owned equally by all three parties, but each partner will receive the same fees they would receive from cable or YouTubeTV, according to sources familiar with the agreement. ESPN alone generates about $12 a month in revenue from cable TV subscribers.
So what does this mean for you? If you add ESPN, Fox and WBD Sports together, the new company’s expected price could be about $40 to $50 per month. There may be some sports fans hoping to save a little money with this arrangement, but it’s hard to believe there are many.
You can already watch almost everything the trio has to offer through platforms like YouTube TV, which costs about $70 and changes monthly. If you need this option, it’s already available and more channels can be launched.
After a year of negotiations on three fronts, seeing these superpowers come together has weight, and their reasons for doing so are very understandable. There’s no risk for them, it’s all reward. This “sport slimming suit,” as the cool media kids like to call it, is worth a try.
Fox Sports is taking this step, entering the sports subscription space for the first time. They watch their competitors invest billions in subscription streaming while they wait patiently on the sidelines. Their top brass sees restructuring as a way out, so this gives them an initial chance.
ESPN has been planning to bring its entire product direct-to-consumer by 2025 (and possibly even 2024). Now, it’s set to begin this fall with doubles partners.
This new arrangement does not deter ESPN’s previous plans. The network still plans to launch a standalone ESPN direct-to-consumer product next year. Additionally, it could still enter into equity partnerships with the NFL or other leagues and/or digital players.
WBD Sports offers a slew of always-undervalued rights for new products, from the NBA and MLB playoffs to March Madness.
The new sports streaming venture is a step toward rebundling sports rights, but it’s not complete. Sunday’s Super Bowl game on CBS, for example, won’t be on the platform. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
But the reason these entities haven’t done anything yet is to exclude other major players, such as CBS.
This “athletic tight end package” is a little too thin to include Patrick Mahomes, Christian McCaffrey, and Taylor Swift this weekend because CBS has the Super Bowl this year. The problem is even bigger when you compare this new offering to YouTube: If you want to watch March Madness, CBS games won’t be on it. This won’t be one-stop shopping.
As the name in the press release suggests, the importance of this deal may become even more important in the future. The quotes all come from the top — Disney’s Bob Iger, Fox’s Lachlan Murdoch and WBD’s David Zaslav.
However, Iger, Murdoch and Zaslav as a trio may have more power if they want to take on the near-limitless pockets of Amazon, Apple or Netflix, and if those digital giants become more serious about sports rights.
The new entity will have its own CEO and will reportedly operate independently. Still, his or her bosses are Iger, Murdoch and Zaslav, so how independent is it? Where will it go in the future? Can they get along? If these questions can be answered positively, it could lead to bigger things happening.
And for you, the fans, maybe the new CEO will find a way to put everything you want to watch into one simple service. Until then, this adventure won’t change much for most of you.
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(Photo of Fox Sports’ Michael Strahan interviewing San Francisco 49ers’ Christian McCaffrey after last month’s NFC Championship Game: Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)
