Fox and Disney/ESPN Join Forces with Warner Bros. Discovery to Launch Revolutionary Sports Streaming Venture

Disney/ESPN and Warner Bros. Discovery have joined forces with Fox to create a new sports streaming venture. Lachlan Murdoch, CEO of Fox, announced the venture and stated that over 150 engineers are working on building an innovative product for sports fans outside of the traditional cable bundle. The venture has recently begun internal beta tests in preparation for a fall launch.

Former Apple and Hulu exec Pete Distad was chosen to head the new joint venture, with Murdoch praising him as a “world-class CEO” who has gotten off to a great start. While Fox remains supportive of the traditional cable bundle, acknowledging its importance as a significant revenue stream, they also recognize the need to reach viewers through new platforms.

When asked about the potential for the new app to be bundled with Fox Corp.’s Tubi platform, Murdoch indicated that Tubi is a different product and suggested that sports could be bundled with other SVOD services in the future. He described the upcoming streaming app as innovative and solely focused on cord-cutters and digital-first users.

Murdoch teased the Wall Street crowd by mentioning the beta version of the streaming app, hinting at its unique features and design tailored for modern viewers. He emphasized the amount of work being done behind the scenes by engineers to ingest content from multiple partners and create a seamless user experience. The goal is to deliver a groundbreaking product that stands out in the industry.