After months of silence, Thursday finally brought an update on the long-discussed streaming venture between ESPN, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery.
Venu Sports will cost $42.99 a month and will launch this fall, the platform announced Thursday. That price point comes in cheaper than traditional cable bundles, which can run more than $100 a month. The service will stream content the three aforementioned companies have rights to, including NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, and men’s college basketball and football games. Venu will have access to 14 live sports channels and a library of on-demand content from each network. A 7-day free trial will be available to those who sign up, as will the opening price point for the first 12 months.
The team-up comes with plenty of questions, as WBD is currently suing the NBA after the league decided to go with Amazon as part of its new media-rights deal, despite the longtime partner matching Amazon’s offer.
All three companies have battled cord-cutting in recent years and it remains to be seen if, and how, Venu will impact their bottom lines. The $42.99 price point means each company will take home less than $15 per subscription. In 2023, the number of U.S. households who don’t have traditional cable outnumbered the ones that do. Earlier this year WBD chief executive David Zaslav said, “We’re going after the 60 million-plus” U.S. households without cable TV.
To make the joint venture successful, the trio will need as many as they can get.
Here’s how Venu compares to its competitors.
Venu ($42.99 per month)
What you’re getting: 14 live sports channels that include NFL, NBA, WNBA, NHL, MLB, Division I college basketball and football games
What you’re missing: Regional sports networks, NBC, CBS, league networks, most MLS coverage
YouTube TV ($73 per month)
What you’re getting: ESPN, Fox, CBS, NBC, providing access to most NBA, WNBA, NFL, MLB, MLS, and Division I college basketball and football games as well as the English Premier League. League networks NFL Network and NBA TV. It also includes the ability to sign up for NBA League Pass, which might not be the case once Amazon takes over operations for the league’s direct-to-consumer product at the start of its new media-rights deal
What you’re missing: Regional sports networks, MLB Network
Hulu + Live TV ($76.99 per month)
What you’re getting: The NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, EPL, college football and basketball all through CBS, NBC, Fox, ESPN, and their family of networks. NFL Network and MLB Network are also included
What you’re missing: Regional sports, MLS, NBA TV
Sling TV: ($20 per month for Orange, $55 for Orange + Blue)
What you’re getting with Orange: ESPN and its family of networks, TNT, TBS
What you’re missing: CBS, NBC, Fox, etc., which limits buyers to ESPN’s media rights
What you’re getting with Orange + Blue: ABC, Fox, NBC, TBS, TNT, FS1, NFL Network, giving access to some national NBA games, NFL, MLS, EPL, Division I college basketball and football, MLB and golf
What you’re missing: CBS, regional sports networks, and league outlets outside of NFL Network. This accounts for some of the NFL, NBA and college-sports packages
