Why Fox-Disney-WBD sports bundle will be in 'higher' price range
The sports streaming joint venture from Disney's ESPN (DIS), Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), and Fox (FOX, FOXA) is expected to lean a bit more to the pricier side. In recent comments, Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch said the streaming bundle's pricing will be "in the higher ranges of what people have talked about."
Yahoo Finance Entertainment Reporter Alexandra Canal details Wall Street's pricing expectations for the service as the media companies figure out who their core subscriber base will be.
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 Luke Carberry Mogan.
Video Transcript
AKIKO FUJITA: Your streaming bill could get a lot more expensive. A new sports streaming service from Disney's ESPN, Warner Brothers Discovery, and Fox will be priced on the higher end of estimates, according to Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch. Just how high could this bundle be priced?
Let's bring in Yahoo Finance's senior reporter Allie Canal. Allie, what kind of number are we talking about?
ALEXANDRA CANAL: Well, Akiko, unfortunately, the skinny bundle is not going to be so skinny when it comes to our wallets there. But Wall Street has been projecting around $40 to $50 a month for this service. So it seems like given these comments, we're going to be priced on the higher end, right around $50 for this joint venture. It is expected to launch later this fall. So I do think we're going to receive an official confirmation on pricing sooner rather than later.
Now the pitch here is that the service appeals to the cord cutters and the cord nevers. He estimated that 50 to 60 million Americans are not currently subscribed to the cable bundle. And that a large portion of that population is going to be attracted to this type of offering there.
One risk, though, that's really clouding the outlook is the potential for regulatory approval. We did hear last month from FuboTV, it filed an antitrust lawsuit against Fox, Warner Brothers Discovery, and Disney, those three companies behind the joint venture, citing anti-competitive behavior.
But Lachlan Murdoch yesterday said he's not concerned at all when it comes to regulatory approval. He said, quote, "when you look at this service, it's pro consumer, it's pro competition, it's focused on a cohort of people on a segment that's not served at all with sports content." So that's going to be a big question mark that we'll be following closely, whether or not this does receive the approval.
And also, how many subscribers is this service going to have when you're asking people to pay for yet another streaming service, considering we have so many options on the market right now? And sports, in particular, it's been a very hot market. I think this is why these companies were attracted to an offer like this. But, you know, we'll have to see when push comes to shove, and a big part of that question mark is going to be the pricing point.
RACHELLE AKUFFO: Indeed. Another fee to add here, unfortunately. Allie Canal, thanks so much for breaking all of that down for us.
