By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man –Follow on & X.
Former Sony employee and editor of 4 TV magazines.
TV Answer Man, how much do you think the ESPN/TNT/Fox streaming thing will cost? If it’s a crazy price, they can forget it. We already pay enough for streaming. — Tony, Las Vegas.
Tony, Fox, ESPN and Warner Bros. Discovery yesterday announced they are planning to form a bundled sports streaming service that would include the combined sports programming of the three companies. (The Wall Street Journal was first to report.) The programming lineup would include live channels such as TNT, ESPN and FS1 as well as live sporting events from all the major leagues, and on-demand content. It would not include live sports from broadcasters not involved in the new venture, such as NBC/Peacock and CBS/Paramount.
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The three companies said the streaming service, which does not yet have a name, would be offered sometime in the fall. They did not reveal pricing so it’s time for The TV Answer Man to make a prediction.
How Much Will Fox/ESPN/Warner Cost?
ESPN is still planning to launch a standalone service separately from the three-channel service, perhaps as early as next year. Last fall, I estimated that ESPN would offer the standalone ESPN for something like $25-30 a month in 2025, which would be competitive with other national streaming services such as NBA League Pass and MLB TV. Disney, which owns ESPN, might even want to go higher than that to create the perception that ESPN is something special, but I wrote it’s likely to stay in the $25-30 range at launch to give the service an early boost.
In yesterday’s press release, the three companies said the new service is intended for the ‘passionate sports fan.’ To me, that’s a ‘tell’ they are targeting fans willing to pay top dollar for sports programming rather than casual fans. Consequently, it’s unlikely they will set a price intended to generate a mass audience.
I expect the launch price will be around $39.99 a month, which will be significantly high to distinguish itself from an ESPN standalone service and significantly low to distinguish itself from live streaming services such as YouTube TV which start at around $70 a month. I could also see the companies launching with $39.99 a month as a debut discount and raising it to $44.99 a month after six months or so.
That may seem high, but Warner, Fox and Disney want to protect their other properties/partners such as the ESPN standalone and pay TV operators, including live streamers, cable and satellite. If they set the price any lower, more fans might cut the cord to sign up for the three-channel streamer which would reduce the companies’ pay TV carriage fees. Or they might not subscribe to the ESPN standalone because the three-channel streamer would be so close in price.
The TV Answer Man will continue to monitor this fascinating development in sports television and report back when anything significant changes.
Tony, hope that helps. Happy viewing and stay safe!
Have a question about new TV technologies? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvanswerman.com Please include your first name and hometown in your message.
The TV Answer Man is veteran journalist Phillip Swann who has covered the TV technology scene for more than three decades. He will report on the latest news and answer your questions regarding new devices and services that are changing the way you watch television. See the bio for Phillip Swann here.
