Venu Sports (pronounced “venue”) has been selected as the name of the new streaming joint venture launching this fall from Disney/ESPN, Fox Corporation and Warner Bros. Discovery. Although pricing has yet to be announced (some estimate it will run $40-$50 per month), the partners are underway in branding their bundled package, unveiled in February as an effort to reach sports fans who don’t already subscribe to pay TV. In March the group announced the new venture’s CEO would be Pete Distad, who spent six years at Hulu followed by a decade at Apple in positions including running global distribution and business ops for Apple TV+.

“We are excited to officially introduce Venu Sports, a brand that we feel captures the spirit of an all-new streaming home where sports fans outside of the traditional pay TV eco-system can experience an incredible collection of live sports, all in one place,” Distad — who will run the operation out of offices in Los Angeles — said in an announcement.

“As preparations for the platform continue to accelerate, we are singularly focused on delivering a best-in-class product for our target audience, built from the ground up using the latest technologies to engage and entertain discerning sports fans wanting one-stop access to live games,” he added.

The venture “will combine ESPN+ with the three companies’ linear TV networks that carry sports programming (ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, ESPNews, FOX, FS1, FS2, Big Ten Network, TNT, TBS and truTV),” writes Variety.

A new website has been launched for “the future home of sports streaming,” with text on the landing page that partially reads: “Watch the biggest games and sporting events happening live and on-demand … All in a new app built from the ground up for sports fans.”

Due to the wide range of channels owned by the partner companies, “Venu will have access to a large number of leagues, conferences and specific sporting events,” reports Tom’s Guide, providing a partial list that includes “NFL, NBA (and the rising WNBA), MLB and NHL, and the PGA Tour, including the Masters.”

Launch of the service is conditional on receiving regulatory approval, Variety points out.

Related:
Proliferation of Streaming Nudges NFL Toward Potential Antitrust Showdown, NBC Sports, 5/19/24
Amazon’s Big League Ambitions, Axios, 5/19/24
The New ‘Hulu for Sports’ Streaming Service Has a Name: Venu Sports, The Verge, 5/16/24
How Much Will It Cost an NFL Fan to Watch Every Game This Season?, The New York Times, 5/16/24
Here Are All the TV Channels and Streaming Services You Will Need for the NFL This Year, CNET, 5/18/24