Disney, Fox, Warner Bros. join forces for sports streaming app
The Walt Disney Company (DIS) is partnering up with Fox (FOX, FOXA) and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) on a new sports streaming service app. The media giants will each own a one-third stake in the joint venture, set to debut in fall 2024.
Yahoo Finance Entertainment Reporter Alexandra Canal breaks down the details.
For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Yahoo Finance Live.
Editor's note: This article was written by Angel Smith
Video Transcript
SEANA SMITH: Disney doubling down on sports streaming, teaming up with Warner Brothers Discovery and Fox to launch a brand new service. Yahoo Finance's Alexandra Canal is here with what we could expect there. Ali.
ALEXANDRA CANAL: Guys, doesn't this sound familiar?
SEANA SMITH: It does. Way too familiar.
ALEXANDRA CANAL: It sounds like the cable bundle. Everything old is new again. But this is going to be available as a standalone app. You're also going to be able to bundle this with a Disney+ subscription, Hulu, Max.
And each of these companies are going to own a third. And that's very important here as we think about the cost of sports rights that's gotten so expensive. We have the NBA renegotiation deal coming up and they're expected to fetch a very high price point. And this could essentially change the game, especially since all three of these companies make up about 55% of the sports rights on the market right now.
But again, a big question I have is will the consumer buy in? I thought we wanted to get away from cable. I thought we wanted to get away from the bundle, the ads. All of that is back in action and it doesn't seem to be going away anytime soon.
Price point, how much consumers are willing to pay? We were just talking about all the bundled subscription plans that we pay for. It's a heck of a lot of money.
And we have seen hints of this in the market. We have third party bundles if you're a Walmart+ subscriber, you get Paramount Plus. You also have Verizon recently come out with a bundle with Netflix and Max. So we have seen hints of this, but I think this really solidifies where things are at in the current market and what it could potentially signal for linear TV.
