There’s still not a lot of information about the yet-unnamed, forthcoming joint venture that will collect the sports content of three of the country’s largest legacy media companies onto a single streaming platform later this year. However, Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery are reportedly set to finally pull back the curtain to some extent next month at the annual upfront presentations. The upfronts are essentially sales pitches that networks and outlets make to the advertising community in order to entice them to spend their clients’ money on commercials, sponsorships, and other forms of ads.

Key Details:

• The three companies are all scheduled to present to advertisers during May’s Upfront Week.
• The joint venture is expected to be used as an opportunity for the companies to increase ad inventory.
• Congress has requested information about the JV by the end of April, so details about the service are likely forthcoming from one avenue or another.

ESPN, Fox, and WBD are planning to launch a first-of-its-kind streaming service in time for the start of the college football and NFL seasons this fall. However, since it was initially announced in early February, precious little has been confirmed about the service, other than former Apple TV and Hulu executive Pete Distad will serve as its CEO.

The expectation is that the service will cost in the $45-$50 per month range, but beyond that, very little is known about the JV, including what it will be called. While analysts have taken to calling it “Spulu” — a portmanteau of “Sports” and “Hulu” — the official name of the service has not been revealed. What to call it and how much it will cost will be at the top of the list in terms of things that will likely be revealed to advertisers in May.

According to Variety, Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery are planning on selling advertisers on the idea that the service will provide added impressions to their otherwise declining linear inventory. This matches the contention from the companies’ executives who have insisted that the streamer does not limit competition, because it is aimed at consumers who do not already subscribe to a pay-TV provider, rather than at siphoning off customers from cable, satellite, and live TV streaming services.

If the JV can attract customers that otherwise have not been a part of the linear advertising equation. In that case, that should help counterbalance the increasing downturn in the traditional television advertising market. keeping the total number of advertising impressions available from falling as far as it might. However, a source told Variety that the JV could also insert its own ads into commercial breaks if needed. While ad-supported streaming audiences for individual shows and events still trail those of traditional TV broadcasts, advertisers will often pay a premium for streaming ad opportunities due to the ability to more accurately target users who are in a product’s target demo.

At this point, it is not clear if the three companies behind the JV will participate in a joint presentation during Upfront Week, or if they will simply include the forthcoming streamer in their individual pitches to ad execs, but for those curious onlookers, the hope is that they will learn more about what the streamer will be sooner rather than later.

The upfront presentations will kick off on Monday, May 13. NBC will get the proceedings going and Fox will be the first JV participant to present that afternoon. The timing of the annual advertising extravaganza falls in line with another important date on the calendar for Disney, Fox, and WBD. Congressmen Joaquin Castro (D-TX) and Jerry Nadler (D-NY) have requested that the companies provide them — and the Department of Justice — with information concerning their plans for the streamer by the end of April. Like the DOJ, the congressmen are concerned that the JV could violate anti-trust laws by limiting competition and having an adverse impact on consumers’ ability to choose a cost-efficient entertainment option.

While the triumvirate of media conglomerates have not yet officially responded to the request, if information is presented to Congress, those details will likely be public sooner rather than later, perhaps opening the door for the companies to be more forthcoming with advertisers — and consumers — in mid-May.