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Peers takes a closer look at the new alliance between ESPN, FOX, and Warner Bros that could change sports streaming.
Three major broadcasters under one banner. It's simple: no video-on-demand service today offers an equivalent product. This collaboration aims to provide viewers with an unprecedented streaming experience, bringing together an impressive range of sports and events under one virtual roof.
The three American TV behemoths’ stated aim is to blur the boundaries between traditional TV and digital streaming, offering consumers the greatest possible freedom and flexibility in the way that they consume their favorite sports content.
The decision to launch this platform exclusively in the United States underlines the importance of the American market in the global entertainment landscape. Indeed, the US is home to some of the world's most prestigious sports leagues, renowned international events, and a passionate fan base. By focusing on this key market, ESPN, Fox, and Warner Bros Discovery aim to capitalize on this insatiable demand for quality sports content, both within the United States, and internationally.
The appeal of this platform also lies in its ability to bring together a diverse range of broadcasting rights, from the major American championships to Formula 1, as well as the soccer World Cup and major tennis tournaments. This diversity ensures that sports fans will always find something to watch, whatever their preference or passion.
And yet, over the past 10 years, Americans have been shedding their pay-TV subscriptions (73.8 million households held at least one subscription in 2023, compared with 100 million in 2013). All of them? Except sports.
On ESPN, many events can regularly gather up to 16 million viewers when broadcast live. A striking figure, yet a far cry from the audiences for the SuperBowl 2024: 123.4 million viewers watched the event across all platforms, 7% more than last year. Did someone say record-breaking? Yes, it's quite simply the best score in the history of American television.
For years, the transfer of sports rights has been a major challenge for consumers, often forcing them to take out multiple subscriptions to access all of the events that they wish to follow.
However, the launch of this platform is more than just a matter of convenience for consumers. It also represents a turning point in the economic and competitive playing field of the media industry. By joining forces, ESPN, Fox, and Warner Bros Discovery are strengthening their market position, consolidating their hold on broadcast rights, and their negotiating power with sports leagues and organizations.
"The launch of this new sports streaming service is a significant moment for Disney and ESPN, a major success for sports fans, and an important step forward for the media industry," commented Disney CEO Bob Iger.
This satisfaction is not without consequences for other players in the sports streaming market. Technology giants such as Amazon, Apple, and Comcast, as well as Paramount Global, now have their backs against the wall to maintain their relevance in an increasingly competitive and fragmented market.
For some, this partnership could mark the beginning of several strategic coalitions, pushing competitors to consider alliances to remain relevant in the marketplace.
For the time being, no launch price has yet been communicated by ESPN, Fox, or Warner. But if the average price of a yearly cable subscription is $100 a month in the US, Bob Iger has promised: it will be "substantially less expensive to consumers than the big bundle they have to buy to get those same channels on cable and satellite."
What if the cord-cutters reconsidered their decision?
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