News
The Disney-Fox-Warner Bros. sports streaming service has a new name: Venu Sports
The upcoming sports streaming partnership between Disney’s ESPN (DIS), Warner Bros.WBD) and Fox (FOXA) officially has a name: Venu Sports.
The streaming service, announced in February, is set to debut this fall and comes at a time when media companies face increased pressure from investors to scale their platforms and achieve profitability.
Venu Sports will bring together the three companies respective lists of sports networks. Collectively, the new service covers about 55% of U.S. sports rights, according to Citi Research.
“We are excited to officially introduce Venu Sports, a brand that we believe captures the spirit of a brand-new streaming home where sports fans outside of the traditional pay TV ecosystem can experience an incredible collection of live sports, all in one. just place. ”, Venu Sports CEO Pete Distad said in a press release Thursday. Distad is a former Apple and Hulu executive.
According to the platform, the service will be made available directly to consumers through a new application. Subscribers will also be able to bundle the product with Disney+, Hulu or Max.
(Courtesy: Yahoo Finance)
In March, Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch said the service will have a price at the upper end of estimates, with subscribers expected to reach around 5 million by 2029.
Wall Street estimated the price will be between $40 and $50 per month. The companies have not yet revealed when they will release exact pricing information.
Still, some risks surrounded the platform before its launch.
One of them includes possible antitrust regulation following sports streamer FuboTV (FUBO) filed a lawsuit against the media giants behind the JV citing “the extreme suppression of competition in the US sports-focused streaming market.”
In the statement, the companies stated: “The formation and launch of the new service are subject to regulatory approval and the finalization of definitive agreements between the parties.”
Another bump includes the possibility that Warner Bros. Discovery be at risk of losing a major media rights deal with the National Basketball Association.
According to a report from wall street newspaperComcast’s NBCUniversal (CMCSA) is working on a $2.5 billion bid that could take the league away from Warner Bros. TNT Network. Wall Street analysts say this could impact the viability of the soon-to-launch platform.
“If WBD intends to add value to [the sports streaming venture] will need to retain the NBA rights,” Ross Benes, senior analyst at eMarketer, wrote to Yahoo Finance. “Without NBA rights, WBD will become a weak third leg in the JV sports tricycle and will not have the advantage of sustaining or increasing its retransmission rates.”
The story continues
The NBA rights are seen as crucial for Warner Bros. (AP Photo / Frank Franklin II) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Correction: An earlier version of this article listed an incorrect name for Pete Distad. We regret the error.
Alexandra Canal is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X @allie_canal, linkedin, and email her at alexandra.canal@yahoofinance.com.
Click here for the latest stock market news and in-depth analysis, including events moving stocks
Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance