ESPN, Warner Discovery, Fox Sports team up for new sports streaming network

Feb. 7 (UPI) -- ESPN, Warner Discovery and Fox Sports are teaming up to build a streaming network, dedicated to thousands of high-profile sporting events, the companies announced Tuesday.

The new streaming sports service will be offered through a standalone app and is scheduled to launch this fall. It will include broadcasts from the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and college sports, in addition to golf, tennis and NASCAR, according to a joint news release.

"The launch of this new streaming sports service is a significant moment for Disney and ESPN, a major win for sports fans and an important step forward for the media business," said Bob Iger, chief executive officer of The Walt Disney Company, which owns ESPN.

"This means the full suite of ESPN channels will be available to consumers alongside the sports programming of other industry leaders as part of a differentiated sports-centric service," Iger added.

Lachlan Murdoch, executive chair and chief executive officer of FOX, said "the service will provide passionate fans outside of the traditional bundle an array of amazing sports content all in one place."

Each of the three companies will own one-third of the streaming service and will license their sports content on a nonexclusive basis. Details on pricing have not been released, pending negotiations. Subscribers will be able to bundle with Disney+, Hulu and/or Max.

The sports streaming service remains unnamed at this point, pending branding by an independent management team.

Warner Bros. Discovery chief executive officer David Zaslav called the streaming sports service an "exciting joint venture" with an "unparalleled combination of marquee sports rights."

"This new sports service exemplifies our ability as an industry to drive innovation and provide consumers with more choice, enjoyment and value and we're thrilled to deliver it to sports fans."