The ever-changing landscape of sports streaming options has a new entry.
ESPN and Fox are teaming up to offer a bundle of their forthcoming streaming services for a combined price of $39.99, the companies announced Monday.
The bundle is set to become available on Oct. 2.
That’s a little over a month after ESPN is scheduled to release a new service that houses all of its networks’ live sports and studio programming on Aug. 21.
FOX One — a streaming service that houses Fox Sports, Fox News and other Fox Corporation brands — is also scheduled to debut on Aug. 21.
Both are set to be among the more expensive streaming services, with ESPN to cost $29.99 per month and FOX One to cost $19.99 per month without the bundle.
Other streaming services that offer live sports include Amazon Prime, which costs $14.99 per month; Peacock, which is $10.99; Apple TV+, which is $9.99; Paramount+, which starts at $7.99; NFL+, which starts $6.99; and Netflix, whose plans range from $7.99 to $24.99.
Of course, different services offer different programming, which contributes to a common complaint among sports fans who pay for numerous services in order to watch games.
For example, a cord-cutting customer who sought to stream NFL games on a given week would pay at least $84 per month if they subscribed separately to ESPN, FOX One, Paramount+, Peacock and Prime.
Bundling ESPN and FOX One would drop that sum to $74.
That scenario doesn’t account for NFL+, which streams NFL Network games, or Netflix, which will air two games on Christmas Day.
Most of those services offer more than sports, while ESPN, which is owned by Disney, is home to the NBA playoffs, “Monday Night Football” and the SEC and ACC Networks, among other entities.
“Working with FOX One on this bundle offer allows us to bring ESPN’s world-class sports content to even more fans in a seamless and innovative way,” Sean Breen, the EVP of Disney Platform Distribution, said in a statement.
“This collaboration reflects our shared commitment to delivering premium experiences across platforms and meeting consumers where they are — anytime, anywhere.”
Last year, Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery — which owns TNT Sports — announced plans to launch a joint sports streaming service called Venu, but the project was canceled in January. Venu had been tabbed at $42.99 per month.
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