Earlier this month, Disney’s ESPN, Warner Brothers Discovery and Fox made a surprise announcement that they would be working together on a brand new streaming sports service in the United States that will bring together the three companies’ portfolios of sports networks, certain direct-to-consumer sports services – including content from all the major professional sports leagues and college sports. 

This new joint venture is scheduled to launch later this year, in time for the new NFL season, unless there are some delays from intervention from the Department Of Justice, who are investigating if this there are any antitrust issues for consumers and other businesses.  Fubo TV has also expressed concerns over the launch of this new system.

Each company will have an equal stake of 33% in the new joint venture, and none of the content will be exclusive since it will also be available on each studio’s sports channels and streaming services.  Disney and Warner Brothers Discovery will also create a bundle with Disney+, Hulu and/or Max.

Very little is known about this new streaming service, which is going to be aimed at “cord-nevers”, aka people who have never had cable or cord-cutters who want access to live sports but don’t want traditional cable.

Many had assumed that Disney Streaming Service would be building the new streaming service and that it would be built using the Hulu+Live TV platform, but Wall Street Journal reporter, Joe Flint has revealed a little extra information on the project by sharing on social media:

Fox is developing the backroom tech and platform for the new sports streaming service it is launching with Disney’s ESPN and Warner Discovery. Platform will be based on News Corp.’s Australian sports platform Kayo Sports.

Kayo Sports is Fox’s live sports platform in Australia and offers a wide selection of sports, including AFL, NRL, Intl Cricket, BBL, WBBL, F1, Supercars, Golf, Netball, NBL & more.   The platform offers thousands of hours of on-demand match replays, live news, shows, and documentaries available at any time.  The streaming service is available on a variety of different devices, including smartphones and video game consoles. 

Kayo Sports was created by Streamotion, which is behind Kayo Sports and Fox’s other Australian streaming services, Binge and Flash.   Steamotion is owned by Foxtel, which Fox is a majority owner of, along with Australian telecom company Telstra.

Disney is still planning on releasing its own new direct-to-consumer version of ESPN in the United States in August 2025, which will offer the entire ESPN suite of channels and content.  It will also be available fully within Disney+, similar to how Hulu On Disney+ is now in Beta. 

More details on the upcoming sports streaming service, including pricing and launch date, will be announced at a later date.

Are you looking forward to this new sports streaming service?  Let us know on social media!

Roger Palmer

Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom. Email: Roger@WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com Twitter: Twitter.com/RogPalmerUK Facebook: Facebook.com/rogpalmeruk

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