New Sports Streaming Service Incoming
A streaming venture that includes three prominent sports networks looks to change the landscape of how consumers view college and professional sports with the touch of a button
Streaming services have become more and more prominent throughout the last decade.
It began with people cutting the cord from cable and switching to platforms like YouTubeTV, Hulu Live TV, Fubo TV and other services that provided bundles of channels that most received through cable TV packages, but for a fraction of the price.
Instead of easily paying over $100 each month for cable subscriptions, these services have provided a more affordable option to viewers for under that same $100 price point each month, streaming through internet and not cable.
Since then, many broadcast corporations and their affiliated channels have created their individual apps that consumers can purchase monthly or annually to put on their smart devices such as phones, televisions, etc.
These are apps such as ESPN+, Discovery+, Fox Sports, NFL Network+ and several more. Each app costs at least a few dollars individually, but typically provides you with all of the programming content that that organization provides, including live channel options included in some packages.
The evolution has made it even more affordable for consumers who are now even shifting away from the early streaming day options of YouTubeTV and Hulu Live TV that were mentioned earlier.
ESPN, Fox and Warner Brothers Discovery are now taking it one step further even. Announced yesterday the television companies announced they would for a joint “all-in-one” streaming service. This would provide sports content across all leagues to consumers- at the professional and collegiate levels.
The venture is said to include ESPN, ESPN+, ESPN2, ESPNU, SEC Network, ACC Network, ESPNEWS, ABC, Fox, FS1, FS2, Big Ten Network, TNT, TBS and TruTV.
With ESPN taking over broadcasting rights of all SEC games starting in 2024, this is great news for SEC fans who will be able to capture all of the action from one app. The alternative option is what has been the trend in having to spread it out through multiple depending on what channel the action is on.
In addition to SEC action, this venture seemingly would encompass other popular sports such as major League Baseball, NFL, NHL, NBA, NASCAR, March Madness and several more.
Additionally, ESPN+ has become commonplace for collegiate sports that are not broadcast on mainstream networks, allowing fans and family of these players and teams to still catch the action. This venture makes it accommodating for that crowd as well.
In an article written on www.usatoday.com by USA Today Investigative Reporter, Brent Schrotenboer, Fox Sports Network president, Bob Thompson told USA Today, “To me, this goes a long way in solving the sports dilemma that many viewers have.”
By bundling everything together, Thompson is not wrong. Convenience is everything for the consumer in 2024.
Thompson estimated the price to cost more than $40 per month. But even then, this is quite fair considering the cost of each of these network groupings individually would accumulate to more than $40.
The venture is projected to launch in the fall of 2024, just in time for college football. SEC fans should be thrilled with an easy one-touch option to get to the game of their choice, further enhancing the excitement for the upcoming years in collegiate sports as a whole.