A newly developing joint streaming effort from three major studios could essentially create a modern version of cable television. Warner Bros. Discovery, along with Fox Corp. and Disney, are teaming up to create the first-ever studio merging streaming platform exclusively for live sports. This groundbreaking new service would combine Disney’s sports media outlets, particularly ESPN and its many affiliates, with other massive sports-related entities owned but Fox and Warner Bros. such as Fox Sports and Turner Sports, respectively. A 3-studio sports content merger of this kind would mark an unprecedented move in the modern streaming landscape.
The mega-partnership would pool an incredible amount of sports channels and networks under one umbrella in a way that is reminiscent of cable packages from nationwide providers such as Xfinity. The new app would feature content from ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN+, ESPN+ , SEC Network, ACC Network, ESPNews, ABC, Fox, FS1, FS2, BTN, TNT, TBS, truTV (via Variety). Depending on the price of the game-changing sports streaming service, major sports fans could find it to be the easiest and most convenient way to access their favorite sports teams and games and no longer have to rely on separate apps or an old-school cable package.
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Disney, Fox, & Warner Bros. Discovery’s New Sports Streaming Teamup Explained
The 3-studio sports package would rival the consolidated convenience of cable sports
As it currently stands, the most convenient way to access a wide range of live sports events is still through a traditional cable service. Streaming live sports through cable packages has never been easier, with many of the biggest cable providers offering streaming apps for Amazon Firestick, Roku, and other streaming devices. Xfinity, for example, offers a free-to-download Xfinity Streaming app that allows customers to access virtually all their live and VOD content through their cable package. While there are some restrictions that blackout certain channels or sports events, it’s currently the best option that consolidates a wide variety of sports media outlets.
The new 3-studio sports streaming app, however, will certainly challenge cable’s longstanding reign as the best place to watch all kinds of sporting events. Fox, in particular, annually offers a consistent output of high-profile NFL games from September to January and MLB games from April to October. ABC and ESPN, both owned by Disney, cover a wide margin of NBA, NHL, and NCAA football and basketball games. Turner Sports, i.e. TNT and TBS, has historically offered national coverage of the NBA, NHL, MLB, and the NCAA March Madness Tournament. Notably missing from this 3-studio package are CBS, home of the 2024 Super Bowl, and NBC, home of the 2024 Olympic Games.
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Why The Three Studios Are Launching A Sports Platform
Independent sports streaming services have struggled to maintain subscribers
A common complaint from many modern sports fans is the inconvenience of switching between streaming apps such as ESPN+ and Fox Sports, in between commercial breaks. Watching sports on cable, where so many different networks and channels are easily accessible with a few clicks of the remote, is simply much more convenient for sports fans who like to watch several games at once. The convenience factor of consolidated sports packages through cable providers is one of the main reasons why independent sports platforms have been struggling to maintain subscribers.
Of course, money is the motivating factor for the merger of three rival studios, which will soon be able to offer sports viewers a more convenient user experience through one consolidated app while avoiding the middlemen of Xfinity, Verizon, and Spectrum. Fox, Disney, and Warner Bros. are essentially offering a better direct-to-consumer revenue tunnel than their current independent streaming apps offer. The new sports cable service will be like a Netflix-esque hub for sports fans that should theoretically rival cable’s user convenience when it comes to watching several sporting events at once.
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What The New Sports Streaming Teamup Says About The Future Of Streaming
Streaming could become the new home for watching sports content
Fox, Disney, and Warner Bros. will each own one-third of the new streaming platform, which is still unnamed. The parent companies will likely license their sports properties to the app, but it is unclear whether the app itself under a new brand name will be able to create its own original programming. With so many television series and movies having already made the leap from cable to streaming platforms, it’s interesting that the sports entertainment market has still maintained its residency on cable for so long. If the new 3-studio sports streaming app takes a lot of cable customers with it, NBC and CBS could follow suit, and cable providers could be at a major disadvantage down the line.
