The new Disney, Warner and Fox sports streaming joint venture finally has a name
The sports streaming service joint venture from Fox Corp., the Walt Disney Co, and Warner Bros. Discovery has a name.
Venu Sports will be the moniker for the direct-to-consumer service set to be launched in the fall, the partners announced Thursday.
The three media companies will have equal ownership shares in the new service, which will carry the suite of ESPN channels, ABC, Fox and its cable sports channels, and Warner Bros. Discovery’s TNT, truTV and TBS.
The CBS Sports chairman, who joined the network in 1996, spent a lifetime in control rooms that brought the biggest events to the nation’s living rooms.
The aim of the platform, announced in February, is to provide a destination that will appeal to younger sports fans who are bypassing traditional pay TV subscriptions.
Fox Corp. Chairman Lachlan Murdoch has said the potential customer pool is the 60 million U.S. households not connected to cable or satellite TV.
The offering will give fans access to games from the NFL, NHL, NBA, Major League Baseball and other sports the partners carry on their linear TV channels. The price for service has yet to be announced but it will presumably be around $50 per month, which is lower than the typical pay TV subscription.
Venu is also an effort by traditional media companies to consolidate forces against deep-pocketed tech companies that are spending heavily to offer live sports on their streaming services.
This week Netflix announced it acquired the rights to two NFL Christmas games in 2024, and at least one during the next two seasons. Amazon’s Prime Video is expected to land a significant package of NBA games in the league’s next media rights deal.
Pete Distad is chief executive of Venu Sports. He previously worked at Apple and Hulu.
Venu is in line with the branding of streaming platforms and services with short two-syllable names, which include Hulu, Roku, Fubo and Tubi.
Inside the business of entertainment
The Wide Shot brings you news, analysis and insights on everything from streaming wars to production — and what it all means for the future.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
