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A day before Disney and Fox were both set to report earnings, the companies threw investors a curveball.
ESPN, owned by Disney, along with Warner Brothers Discovery and Fox Corp., are creating a shared streaming platform for sports assets that will be available later in the year, the companies cited in a release. Expected to be a one-stop shop for sports streaming, Disney+, Hulu, and Max members will all have access to the stand-alone service, with each company owning a third of it.
The move was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
The announcement comes at a time when the NBA is currently seeking its next media rights deal, which both ESPN and Turner Sports, the latter of which is owned by Warner Brothers Discovery, are negotiating to remain a part of, and when the price for sports media rights continues to go up.
The move should help ESPN, which Disney CEO Bob Iger has sought to fix since returning to the helm of the company and went through several cost-cutting measures throughout 2023. Throughout the rise of streaming in recent years, a consistent absence has been a platform that mixes the assets owned by various rival networks, making it hard for consumers to get all their desired content in one place. Should the platform prove successful, it could be a major domino for those considering cutting the cord.
