Is This New Sports Streaming Bundle Worth the Price Tag?
By Movieguide® Contributor
Disney, Warner Bros and Fox’s streaming service, called Venu Sports, has announced its price ahead of its fall debut.
“The joint streaming venture will kick off with an initial subscription price of $42.99 per month,” TV Line reported Aug. 1. “A seven-day free trial will be available to all who subscribe, and users who sign up for Venu’s launch price will maintain that price for 12 months from time of sign-up, with the ability to cancel at any time.”
Variety notes the price is expected, given that the service is not a standalone network, which would cost between $20 and $30 per month, and is less expensive than larger packages, like Hulu + Live TV, which costs $76.99 per month.
Movieguide® previously reported on the streaming service’s name reveal:
Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery have unveiled the name of their new joint streaming venture: Venu Sports.
“We are excited to officially introduce Venu Sports, a brand that we feel captures the spirit of an all-new streaming home where sports fans outside of the traditional pay TV eco-system can experience an incredible collection of live sports, all in one place,” CEO Pete Distad said. “As preparations for the platform continue to accelerate, we are singularly focused on delivering a best-in-class product for our target audience, built from the ground up using the latest technologies to engage and entertain discerning sports fans wanting one-stop access to live games.”
The service does not have an exact release date but is supposed to arrive near the start of the NFL season this fall.
“With an impressive portfolio of sports programming, Venu will provide sports fans in the U.S. with a single destination for watching many of the most sought-after games and events,” Venu CEO Pete Distad said in a statement on Thursday. “We’re building Venu from the ground up for fans who want seamless access to watch the sports they love, and we will launch at a compelling price point that will appeal to the cord cutter and cord never fans currently not served by existing pay TV packages.”
Each company owns one-third of the service, which offers subscribers 14 live sports channels and on-demand programs from ESPN+ and other sports networks.
However, some parties are concerned about the venture.
TV Line reported, “In April, Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) and Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX) brought a formal inquiry to Disney CEO Bob Iger, Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch and WBD CEO David Zaslav, expressing concern that “this consolidation will result in higher prices for consumers and less-fair licensing terms for upstream sports leagues and downstream video distributors.”
- Content: +4Share:
- Content: +4