Fox, ESPN, and WBD announce a new joint venture to launch a streaming sports service in the US in the fall of 2024; each entity will own a third of the JV

The service will be available to ESPN+, Hulu and Max subscribers.

Wall Street Journal 2024-02-07

Context & Ripple Effects

This partnership turned a shared sports-streaming concept into a jointly owned product distributed alongside the companies' existing direct-to-consumer services. It was later branded Venu Sports and given an initial $42.99 monthly price, showing the venture was intended as a distinct paid offering rather than merely a content cross-promotion.

The arc also demonstrates the limits of the approach: Disney, Fox, and WBD later agreed to discontinue Venu and refocus on their existing products and distribution channels. That outcome makes the original joint venture a useful test case for whether major programmers can pool sports inventory without relying on a conventional pay-TV bundle.

First-order effects

Fox, ESPN, and WBD each gain an equal stake in a US-focused sports streaming vehicle, requiring shared control over its product, distribution, and launch decisions.
ESPN+, Hulu, and Max subscribers become the immediate target audience for the service, tying its early reach to the partners' existing streaming customer bases.

Second-order effects

The venture creates a new multi-programmer sports option that competing streaming and pay-TV distributors must account for when positioning their own sports packages.
Because the partners are pooling programming while retaining their own services, subscription packaging and customer acquisition become central to whether the joint product adds demand rather than shifts viewers among ESPN+, Hulu, and Max.

Third-order effects

The deal points to sports streaming moving toward selective cooperation among legacy media groups when no one company controls a complete consumer proposition on its own.
Venu's later discontinuation suggests such alliances can be difficult to sustain when shared distribution and product goals collide with each owner's existing streaming priorities.

The trend: Sports-media companies are testing joint direct-to-consumer offerings to assemble broader programming packages, even as ownership and distribution conflicts can limit their durability.

Discussion

UPROXX UPROXX on x
Report: Fox, ESPN, and Warner Bros. Discovery Are Reinventing Cable But Only For Sports Fans
@pkafka Peter Kafka on threads
What we know about the new megasports streamer: *all sports from ABC, ESPN, tnt, tbs and Fox. *launches this fall *it doesn't include CBS and nbc. So it won't have all the NFL games. Big thing we don't know: price https://www.businessinsider.com/ ...
@mattbelloni Matthew Belloni on x
It's the old HULU but for sports....what could go wrong? [image]
@sherman4949 Alex Sherman on x
A lot of takes about this already. My read is this essentially a gap offering. This is a skinny bundle for people who don't want the ESPN direct-to-consumer offering that's to come and also don't want cable. How many people is that? I don't know. https://www.cnbc.com/...
@tvmojoe @tvmojoe on x
Because essentially, this is a new form of what we already have with Sling, FUBO or even Frndly— live feeds repackaged in a new home. It also could help in the sales pitch to people who don't just want sports— yes, you're signing up for sports, but you get ABC/Fox/T-Net enterta
@sherman4949 Alex Sherman on x
This is unexpected. So, this is essentially a one-product new company, co-owned by Disney, WBD and Fox. And the product is a skinny bundle of all of their linear networks that show sports in one form or another. https://www.cnbc.com/...
@mgsiegler M.G. Siegler on x
Next thing you know, some other streaming services are gonna get together and then team up with this sports package. And it shall be called “cable”. French for “bundle”.
@lucas_shaw Lucas Shaw on x
FWIW today's announcement raises WAY more questions than it answers.
@tsoh_investing Alex Morris on x
Disney domestic linear affiliate fees were ~$17 per sub per month in FY23. Add on ESPN+ at ~$11 per month. B/R add on is ~$10 per month, and that doesn't cover all WBD content. Fox ex News is another ~$6 per month. Will be very surprised if they launch this at <$40 per month.
@sherman4949 Alex Sherman on x
While no price has been set, I'm told a logical starting price point for this could be $45-$50 per month by a person familiar with the matter. https://www.cnbc.com/...
@jimcramer Jim Cramer on x
Wow, they killed Disney on this combination with weaker sisters
@loudmouthjulia Julia Alexander on x
Warner Bros. Discovery, Fox, and Disney coming together for a shared streaming service where there is equal stakes in the product. It's the Hulu Model come back to life. [image]
@loudmouthjulia Julia Alexander on x
Also feels increasingly likely that ESPN+ will shut down, with those customers being integrated into ESPN OTT + this one at discount. Sure, ESPN+ customers are theoretically paying (bundle) + ad rev but what is the CAC across the board when you have 3 prod doing similar things?
@dylanbyers Dylan Byers on x
Just got off a 5-hour flight with no WiFi but my two cents on the new Hulu-ish DISNEY-WBD-FOX sports bundle is... 1. As a consumer, I love it. 2. For $DIS, $WBD, $FOX, I have all the same questions my ever insightful @PuckNews colleague @loudmouthjulia has... [image]
@jacobfeldman4 @jacobfeldman4 on x
I will be calling this Spulu until further notice... and thinking about it a lot.
@tim_bays Tim Baysinger on x
Streaming is just three cable bundles stacked on top of each other in a trench coat
@tvmojoe @tvmojoe on x
Been trying to get an answer to this, but trust that Alex has it: In order to not cause all-out war with b'cast affiliates, this platform — I would guess— will offer local feeds of various affiliates, the way P+ with SHO does for CBS content and Peacock does with ad-free
@sherman4949 Alex Sherman on x
A key point here — while the focus of this is sports, consumers who sign up for this will get everything on the linear network. So, that's all content that airs on ABC, Fox, TNT, TBS, etc. Not just sports.
@richontech Rich DeMuro on x
Here is what we know so far about the new joint sports streaming service: The price will be an incredible deal at launch and you'll want to bundle it! Then, like clockwork, the price will go up And up. And up. And you'll wish these three major companies didn't create a...
@jtoonkel Jessica Toonkel on x
This is smart. JVs like this make more sense than M&A if the companies can stay out of each other's way. Great Scoop by @jbflint @thesimonetti Fox Corp., ESPN and Warner Bros. Discovery are creating a joint streaming platform to share sports...
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