Walt Disney Co.’s ESPN and Fox Corp. plan to offer a bundled package that will include both of their new streaming services for $40 a month.
The ESPN sports streaming service and Fox One both launch Aug. 21 and the new bundle will be available starting Oct. 2, the companies said in a statement Monday. The new ESPN app will include access to content from all of the network’s channels as well as fantasy sports and highlights, and cost $30 a month on its own. Fox One will combine sports, news and entertainment content from Fox and costs $20 a month by itself.
“This collaboration reflects our shared commitment to delivering premium experiences across platforms and meeting consumers where they are—anytime, anywhere,” Sean Breen, executive vice president of Disney platform distribution, said in the statement.
Both companies are catering to new customers as more TV viewers switch from cable to streaming and home entertainment options are proliferating. Disney is offering its new ESPN app as part of a bundle with Hulu and Disney+ for $36 a month, with a promotional price of $30 monthly for the first year. Consumers will also be able to bundle Fox One and Fox News’ Fox Nation streaming platform for $25 a month or $240 annually if the plan is purchased at launch. Disney has also partnered with Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. to offer a package of HBO Max, Disney+ and Hulu.
Fans looking to re-create the cable-TV package to watch sports in the streaming era will have pay at least $84 a month to purchase all the services individually. That includes and the big four broadcast networks. It doesn’t include the Christmas games on Netflix or YouTube’s Sunday Ticket.
Disney and Fox previously teamed up with Warner Bros. on a sports streaming joint venture called Venu. They planned to launch the product last summer, but it was delayed and then ulitmately scrapped in January after FubuTV Inc., a sports streaming site, complained that it was anticompetitive. Disney subsequently announced plans to acquire a majority stake in Fubo by merging it with its Hulu + Live TV streaming service. Bloomberg