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Breaking news, a new sports streaming service is coming soon
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Is it a game changer? Let's talk about it. This is part of a new joint venture that ESPN, Fox, and Warner Brothers Discovery
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are forming, and it's going to provide access to all of these linear networks
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ESPN, ABC, Fox, TBS, TNT, and more. ESPN Plus also included. More details that just came out
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This new service, it's expected to launch in the fall of 2024, and it'll
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be a standalone app. No word yet on the pricing or the name of the service
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Subscribers will be able to bundle the new service with Disney Plus, Hulu
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and Max. In a statement, Disney CEO Bob Iger said, the service is a significant moment
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for Disney and ESPN and a major win for sports fans. ESPN, Fox, and Warner
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Brothers Discovery will their networks broadcast a lot of sporting events. I'll show you in this chart
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Here's what the upcoming service will offer. Thousands of games from the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, college sports, and more
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The way it is now, you need a pay TV bundle to get all the networks that
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this new service will offer. So that's either cable, satellite, or a live TV streaming service like
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YouTube TV, which just hit 8 million subscribers. You may not realize this, but YouTube TV started as a skinny bundle, $35
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a month, and over the years, it's grown to more than 100 channels in the base plan with price hikes along the way
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Now, YouTube TV is up to $73 a month at recording time
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So why do I mention that? Well, this new service will launch as a skinny bundle
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And while I don't have the official pricing, I can tell you it will not
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be cheap. Sports rights are expensive and they make up the majority of
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the pay TV bill. Here's proof of that. Look at Friendly TV
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It's a service that excludes sports networks, cable news channels, and local stations by design
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And that's how it can offer 40 plus networks for only $7 a month
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So don't expect anything like that with this new service. The channel lineup for the new service is great for sports fans, but I
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do expect that many will need to supplement with other services. It's got a lot of sports, not all the sports
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Many sports fans rely on all four broadcast networks, particularly during the NFL season
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The new service includes ABC and Fox. I mentioned that earlier. But if you want CBS and NBC, you'll need to get those another way, either
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with an antenna, a pay TV service, or through the Paramount Plus and
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Peacock apps. By the way, CNBC reports that this new service is not going to stop ESPN
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from offering its own direct-to-consumer option, something else to follow. And the new streaming service comes as Warner Brothers Discovery's Max
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has launched a Bleacher Report sports add-on. I've reported on this extensively, available free for a limited time
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It includes live games from TBS, TNT, and TruTV. When we learn more about the pricing of the new service, you'll be able
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to do the math and see whether it's best to stay with a premium live
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TV service, like a YouTube TV, or whether you'll want to get the new
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service and then supplement with add-ons, maybe some other subscriptions. But based on the announcement, I have a feeling that the target audience
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for the upcoming service will be cord cutters who've already dropped the live TV bundle altogether
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And perhaps for the right price, some of them will give this service a try
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I gotta know, how much would you pay for this new sports streaming service
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Let me know down below in the comments. My name is Michael, and I thank you for watching
