Tuesday afternoon, it was announced that Disney (ESPN), FOX (Sports), and Warner Discovery (MAX) will be coming together to launch their own joint streaming service. This marks a pivotal development in the streaming wars and the increasingly competitive space of sports rights. As of now, there aren't many details available (most specifically regarding price), but we do know that it will be accessible to subscribers of the Disney Trio (Disney+/Hulu/ESPN+) and MAX subscribers. What's unclear to me right now is what non-cable audience FOX would bring into the fold here, given they don't have their own direct-to-consumer (DTC) product.
Based on their existing rights, the package would include a number of high-quality sports properties:
Pro Football: NFL and UFL
Pro Basketball: NBA and WNBA
Pro Hockey: NFL
Pro Baseball: MLB
NCAA: Football and Basketball
Pro Soccer: MLS, NWSL, and La Liga
Pro Tennis: Grand Slam
Combat Sports: UFC and Top Rank
Auto Racing: F1 and NASCAR
Cycling and Golf would also be included to round it out. All those together instantly make it the most exhaustive one-stop shop for Live Sports Programming, making their competition pale in comparison.
NBC: Sunday Night Football, Notre Dame Football, Premier League
CBS: 1/2 of the NFL, SEC Football, March Madness, and Olympics
Youtube TV: Sunday Ticket
Prime Video: Thursday Night Football, PBC, and Bally Sports
Apple TV+: Friday Night Baseball and MLS Season Pass
For consumers, the question will be about cost and availability for this sports bundle. Specifically for the NFL, each game is played in a specific market to optimize the reach on Sundays, and consumers are surely hoping that they can have all the games available through the rights holder (in this case, FOX) and not be geo-locked to a specific game. Below is an example of how the regions were divided for Week 17 of the 2023 season.
Assuming you still have access to all these channels through your existing cable bundle or even MVPDs like YouTube TV and Hulu Live, you then wonder if it's even as big of a deal as the news is making it. If the NFL games are still region-based, Sunday Ticket might be a better option depending on what the NFL might be worth to you. NBA fans, on the other hand, won't have that issue based on how League Pass has carved out their regional plan.
In terms of price, one can't imagine it will be very cheap. For MVPDs like YouTube TV and Hulu Live, the packages with sports typically run between $70-80. The latest analysis from Lightshed Partners estimated $35-40/month. However, based on the distribution fees, it could cost at least $50/month.
Lastly, you have to wonder how the various leagues that would be impacted feel. It was noted that the MLB and NBA both weren't exactly thrilled about the Bally Sports situation and wanted to reclaim some of the rights that were likely to change hands. At the very least, we know that our complaints are being heard (somewhat) and the media companies are scrambling for a solution as this is just the latest step toward both de-bundling and re-bundling of cable, depending on how you look at it.
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