ESPN, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery have unveiled plans to establish a collaborative Joint Venture (JV) aimed at launching an innovative streaming sports service in the United States. This venture will merge the extensive sports linear networks and direct-to-consumer (DTC) service ESPN+ offerings into a standalone app, catering to the fervent sports aficionado.

The service will offer an array of premium sports content, spanning across major professional leagues such as NFL, NBA, WNBA, MLB, NHL, NASCAR, College Sports, UFC, PGA TOUR Golf, Grand Slam Tennis, the FIFA World Cup, Cycling, and much more. Scheduled to debut in fall 2024, the new platform seeks to revolutionize the sports streaming landscape, delivering an unparalleled experience directly to consumers.

Bob Iger, Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company said, “The launch of this new streaming sports service is a significant moment for Disney and ESPN, a major win for sports fans, and an important step forward for the media business. This means the full suite of ESPN channels will be available to consumers alongside the sports programming of other industry leaders as part of a differentiated sports-centric service. I’m grateful to Jimmy Pitaro and the team at ESPN, who are at the forefront of innovating on behalf of consumers to create new offerings with more choice and greater value.”

David Zaslav, Chief Executive Officer of Warner Bros. Discovery, said “At WBD, our ambition is always to connect our leading content and brands with as many viewers as possible, and this exciting joint venture and the unparalleled combination of marquee sports rights and access to the greatest sporting events in the world allows us to do just that. This new sports service exemplifies our ability as an industry to drive innovation and provide consumers with more choice, enjoyment and value and we’re thrilled to deliver it to sports fans.”

Key highlights of the venture include:

– Establishment of a new joint venture comprising ESPN, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery to develop, launch, and operate the streaming sports bundle.
– Equal ownership and board representation for each entity, with non-exclusive licensing of sports content to the joint venture.
– Introduction of a new brand with an independent management team.

Further details, including pricing, will be disclosed at a later date as the venture progresses towards its anticipated launch.