Venu Sports Announces Launch Price; Does Not Clarify When Service Will Debut
The day has finally arrived. In the six months since Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery first announced that their sports streaming joint venture — which eventually came to be known as Venu Sports — would be hitting the market in fall of 2024, very few details have been available; the streamer’s name was even a mystery until this summer. However, on Thursday, the three sports and entertainment companies finally unveiled a bit more information about the sports streamer’s release, while keeping some other important details a mystery.
Key Details:
- Venu Sports will be priced at $42.99 per month following a seven-day free trial.
- The streamer still has not confirmed when the service will launch other than “in the fall.”
- Channels including ABC, ESPN, FS1, TNT, and more will be available on the service.
One of the most contentious streaming stories of the year has been the launch of this first-of-its-kind collaborative streamer. Normally rivals, Disney, Fox, and WBD are coming together in order to flex their considerable sports broadcasting muscles as the value and their traditional linear broadcast and cable channels decline as cord-cutting increases.
As the streamer will primarily consist of livestreams of linear broadcasts, there will only be one, ad-supported subscription tier, which will have an introductory price of $42.99 per month following a free seven-day trial. Anyone who signs up for the service at this rate will be able to keep the price for a full year. The service did not specify how long the launch price would be available, or how much it would increase once it is gone. So presumably, it would behoove interested customers to sign up sooner rather than later.
This intro rate is essentially in line with The Streamable’s price prediction when the service was first announced in February. Although, at that time, Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch said that the product would be in the “higher range” of analyst estimates, so it is likely that once this launch price expires, the full cost will be in the $50 range.
“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’s CEO Pete Distad said. “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.”
While the timing of the launch had always been planned for fall, there continue to be factors that could potentially throw off that timeline. From an almost immediately filed lawsuit to Department of Justice scrutiny to congressional oversight, the path to availability has been a particularly fraught one. However, following Venu's aggressive official response to the the anti-trust lawsuit brought by Fubo, the streamer is still promoting a launch “in the fall.”
If that comes to pass, fans will be able to watch NFL, college football, NBA, college basketball, and NHL regular season games on the service this fall, as well as the end of the 2024 MLB regular season and all of the postseason. The service will also host PGA Tour golf; mixed martial arts from the UFC and other promotions; motorsports from Formula 1, NASCAR, INDYCAR, international soccer; the WNBA; and more.
As confirmed by The Streamable months ago, viewers will be able to stream each channel available on Venu Sports in full and will have access to non-sports content on every network. The platform will provide access to 14 channels, including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SEC Network, ACC Network, ESPNEWS, and ABC from Disney; Fox, FS1, Fox Sports 2, and the Big Ten Network from Fox; and TNT, TBS, and truTV from Warner Bros. Discovery. Additionally, the streaming-exclusive sports content found on Disney’s ESPN+ and WBD’s Max will also be available on Venu.
The service’s extensive library will also provide access to ESPN’s 30 for 30 film library, Fox Sports Films, studio shows from ESPN, Fox Sports, and TNT, and more.
Venu Sports
Venu Sports is the planned live TV streaming service offering sports from ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, ESPNEWS, ABC, FOX, FS1, FS2, BTN, TNT, TBS, and truTV. Programming from ESPN+ and on-demand content will also be available. Users will be able to watch NFL, NBA, MLB, and NCAA games. Subscribers can bundle the product with Disney+, Hulu, or Max. Venu’s launch is on hold thanks to a preliminary injunction.