In a press release, The Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger said “The launch of this new streaming sports service is a significant moment for Disney and ESPN, a major win for sports fans, and an important step forward for the media business.”
While streaming and bundle lovers may revel in this news, some, like sociology major Jordan Patton disagree.
Patton: I do think that it is in a form of a monopoly, that Disney is kind of taking over a lot of big streaming services and a lot of big companies, and I think it’s really important for them to, for independent companies to shine, especially because there needs to be a more independent and a diversity of opinions rather than being controlled by one conglomerate, in a sense.
Over the years, streaming has become one of cable television’s greatest competitors, as cable and broadcast viewership now makes up less than 50% of TV watching.
But are they really all that different? Theater major Ryann Jacobson points out the similarities between the two.
Jacobson: It seems to me almost like cable is coming back. It’s like being invented in a new way, because everything’s being bundled together. And then having ads again, like on the services, just like commercials. So it kind of seems like it’s an eternal loop. I do like streaming services because it’s easy to watch at home if they pay the people correctly and are giving them the correct royalties and things like that.
Similar to cable, streaming services charge monthly fees and while the price point for the new service has not been announced, industry experts expect the cost to be around $40-$50 a month.
Health and Human Sciences freshman Dream Spivey believes this price is too high.
Spivey: that’s a lot for sports. I mean, it if it has like, all the sports, you’d have to be kind of like a fanatic because, like, if you only like one particular sport, you might not want to pay 50 to $60 for one streaming service that only a sports. So I don’t know.
Each of the companies involved will own one-third of this venture. As of now, this service does not have a name.
For Annenberg Media: I am Veronica Towers.