The flirtation between ESPN and Fox Sports on a streaming service collaboration is over for now.
After the collapse of their Venu Sports service with TNT Sports and continued rumors over the inclusion of Fox and FS1 programming on ESPN’s upcoming subscription app, Puck’s John Ourand reports that the Worldwide Leader is no longer in talks to license Fox Sports content for its streaming venture.
“It’s possible that eventually Fox’s streaming strategy will involve selling its own branded bundles to various streamers, but I’m told that ESPN’s D.T.C. launch this fall won’t include Fox programming,” Ourand wrote in his subscription newsletter on Friday.
Instead, Fox appears to finally be building its own service after pivoting from Venu last month. Ourand notes that the nail in the coffin on a potential ESPN-Fox partnership came during a February earnings call in which News Corp chairman Lachlan Murdoch said Fox aims to launch a streaming platform by the end of 2025.
For years, Fox was looked at as a logical licensing partner with other sports streamers. The company largely sat out the “streaming wars” of the late 2010s and early 2020s, even selling its regional sports networks and cable networks in a deal with Disney in 2019. But Fox still carries many of America’s biggest sports events, including its America’s Game of the Week NFL package, World Series, FIFA World Cup and Daytona 500. All that plus the FS1 studio lineup adds up to a strong package for sports fans.
Fox could also see an opportunity to package its news and sports programming together on its own.
The excess of streaming options and rising prices for subscribers lead many to believe consolidation is coming. For now, however, it would appear ESPN and Fox will go it alone.
