Disney\u2019s ESPN and Fox Corp. are teaming up to offer their upcoming direct-to-consumer streaming services as a bundle, the companies said Monday.<\/p>\n
The move comes as media companies look to nab more consumers for their streaming alternatives, and draw them in with sports, in particular.<\/p>\n
Last week, both companies announced additional details about the new streaming options. ESPN\u2019s streaming service \u2014 which has the same name as the TV network \u2014 and Fox\u2019s Fox One will each launch on Aug. 21, ahead of the college football and NFL seasons.<\/p>\n
The bundled apps, however, will be available beginning Oct. 2 for $39.99 per month. Separately, ESPN and Fox One will cost $29.99 and $19.99 a month, respectively.<\/p>\n
While the bundle will offer sports fans a bigger offering at a discounted rate, the streaming services are not exactly the same.<\/p>\n
ESPN\u2019s flagship service will be an all-in-one app that includes all of its live sports and programming from its TV networks, including ESPN2 and the SEC Network, as well as ESPN on Disney-owned ABC. The app will also have fantasy products, new betting tie-ins, studio programming and documentaries.<\/p>\n
ESPN will also offer its app as a bundle with Disney\u2019s other streaming services, Disney+ and Hulu, for $35.99 a month. That Disney bundle will cost a discounted $29.99 a month for the first 12 months \u2014 the same price as the stand-alone app.<\/p>\n
Last week, ESPN further beefed up the content on its streaming app when it inked a deal with the WWE for the U.S. rights to the wrestling league\u2019s biggest live events, including WrestleMania, the Royal Rumble and SummerSlam, beginning in 2026. The sports media giant also reached an agreement with the NFL that will see ESPN acquire the NFL Network and other media assets from the league.<\/p>\n
The Fox One service, however, will be a bit different. Fox had been on the sidelines of direct-to-consumer streaming for years after its competitors launched their platforms. Just this year, it said it would offer all of its content \u2014 including news and entertainment \u2014 from its broadcast and pay TV networks in a streaming offering. Fox One won\u2019t have any exclusive or original content.<\/p>\n
Fox\u2019s move into the direct-to-consumer streaming game \u2014 outside of its Fox Nation app and the free, ad-supported streamer Tubi \u2014 came after it abandoned its efforts to launch Venu, a joint sports streaming venture with Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery.<\/p>\n
Both Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch and Disney CEO Bob Iger said during separate earnings calls last week that they were exploring bundling options with other services. Since Fox announced the Fox One app, Murdoch has said the company would lean into bundles with other streaming services.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnnouncing ESPN as our first bundle partner is evidence of our desire to deliver the best possible value and viewing experience to our shared customers,\u201d said Tony Billetter, SVP of strategy and business development for FOX\u2019s direct to consumer segment, in a release on Monday.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Disney\u2019s ESPN and Fox Corp. are teaming up to offer their upcoming direct-to-consumer streaming services as a bundle, the companies said Monday. The move comes as media companies look to nab more consumers for their streaming alternatives, and draw them in with sports, in particular. Last week, both companies announced additional details about the new…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2901,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2900","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetradingdictionary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2900","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetradingdictionary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetradingdictionary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetradingdictionary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetradingdictionary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2900"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thetradingdictionary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2900\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetradingdictionary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetradingdictionary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetradingdictionary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetradingdictionary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}