FOX, Warner Bros. and ESPN announced Tuesday afternoon a joint sports streaming venture beginning this fall that will provide subscribers access to all three broadcasting entities.
“This new sports service exemplifies our ability as an industry to drive innovation and provide consumers with more choice, enjoyment and value and we’re thrilled to deliver it to sports fans,’’ said Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav in a statement.
The service will provide broadcasting to at least 15 networks including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SEC Network (SECN), ACC Network (ACCN), ESPNEWS, ABC, FOX, FS1, FS2, Big Ten Network (BTN), TNT, TBS, truTV and ESPN+. Subscribers will be able to watch the NFL, NBA, WNBA, MLB, NASCAR, UFC, PGA Tour golf, Grand Slam Tennis, the FIFA World Cup and college sports.
USC is one of the many colleges that stands to benefit from the joint venture. Previously, USC away games were notoriously difficult to watch. Last year’s Notre Dame game was nationally televised on NBC, but for other Pac-12 road games, Trojan fans could only watch via the Pac-12 network. The network is available through cable networks like Spectrum, which could run fans up to $64.99/month, or Comcast Xfinity, which requires an internet plan with TV. Satellite TV services like DISH are just as costly, and offer the Pac-12 as a $13 monthly premium in addition to their $84.99/month base fee.
With USC’s departure from the Pac-12 and move to the Big Ten alongside the arrival of the joint sports streaming network, USC sports will become a lot more accessible to fans at home starting this fall. Most nationally televised Big Ten games will be included on FOX Sports, ESPN, ABC and CBS, with others available on BTN.
A name and pricing scale for the platform have yet to be announced.