The entertainment giants ESPN – a Disney subsidiary -, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery announced this Tuesday the launch of a joint platform of “streaming” sports, an important rapprochement between competitors in an era of high costs of broadcasting rights.
In a press release, the three media groups reported that a joint company will also be created to manage the new platform, which will only be available to consumers in the United States.
Its launch, scheduled for the autumn of 2024, represents the creation of a kind of Netflix of sports in that country.
The companies indicated that the formation of the package is subject to reaching “definitive agreements.”
Together, the three companies control the rights to all major American championships, as well as Formula 1, the 2026 soccer World Cup, three of the four major tennis tournaments and the PGA professional golf circuit.
The new platform, which can be combined with the offers of Disney+, Hulu and Max, would also include some broadcasts of the NFL, the NBA and Major League Baseball, NASCAR, UFC and university sports.
No video on demand service in the world currently offers an equivalent or close product.
Until now, the fragmentation of sports rights between several platforms forced sports fans in the United States to contract more than one subscription.
ESPN, the world’s number one sports network, has so far refused to broadcast its most important events on its dedicated platform ESPN+, so as not to enter into direct competition with cable television.which continues to provide him with significant income.
The fight between platforms has even been reinforced by the emergence of new actors interested in sports broadcasting rights.
The alliance announced this Tuesday is therefore not very encouraging news for those who will not participate, in particular Amazon, Apple, Comcast and also Paramount Global, which broadcasts American football (NFL), golf and college basketball.
The launch of this single platform could give the trio of ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. greater negotiating room with sports leagues, whose broadcast rights costs have skyrocketed in recent years.
Source: Gestion
Ricardo is a renowned author and journalist, known for his exceptional writing on top-news stories. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he is known for his ability to deliver breaking news and insightful analysis on the most pressing issues of the day.
