United States: creation of a joint streaming platform between Fox, ESPN & Warner Bros. Discovery

The pay-TV group ESPN (The Walt Disney Company), the American pay and free-TV group Fox and the media and entertainment conglomerate Warner Bros. Discovery have reached an agreement to create a joint venture to launch a common sports streaming platform for the three groups in the United States, they announced on 06/02/2024.

This new streaming service, which is due to launch in autumn 2024, will bring together the three groups' sports rights portfolios and the sports channels and certain DtoC platforms will be available on it. "By subscribing to this focused, all-in-one premier sports service, fans would have access to the linear sports networks including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, ESPNEWS, ABC, FOX, FS1, FS2, BTN, TNT, TBS, truTV, as well as ESPN+," said the three entities.

The joint venture is expected to be equally owned by the three groups, which will also have equal representation on the board of directors. The joint venture will also have its own brand and an independent management team.

"The formation of the pay service is subject to the negotiation of definitive agreements…