PRICE Revealed for Disney’s New Streaming Service…and It’s Not Pretty

Streaming sports is going to cost ya’…

Earlier this year, Disney — in conjunction with Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery — announced the launch of the Venu sports app. The service will allow viewers to stream various sporting events carried by networks owned by each company. At the time, Disney CEO Bob Iger called the service a “major win for sports fans, and an important step forward for the media business.” Now we know how much that “step forward” is going to cost. 

As announced in a press release in early August 2024, the initial launch price of Venu will be $42.99 per month. Anyone who signs up for that price will be locked into that price for one year, which seems to imply that it may rise rather quickly for later subscribers. 

While that price may give some massive sticker shock at first, when broken down, it may not actually be that bad for major sports fans. Venu will be “targeted at sports fans outside the traditional pay TV bundle” by providing “access to 14 live sports channels and an expansive library of on-demand content from the collective companies’ portfolios of sports networks and ESPN+.” 

Some of the networks available on the service will include ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, ESPNEWS, ABC, FOX, FS1, FS2, BTN, TNT, TBS, truTV, as well as ESPN+, with “extensive live games and event coverage of the NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, WNBA, NCAA Division I football and basketball, U.S. and international soccer, combat sports, Grand Slam tennis, championship golf, INDYCAR, NASCAR and F1 auto racing.”

If one adds up the cost of accessing those networks through cable or general live TV streaming services like Fubo or Sling TV, Venu’s price is actually rather competitive. 

Pete Distad, CEO of Venu Sports service, said of the price announcement, ”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. 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.”

Venu is scheduled to launch later this year, at $42.99 a month, and will be available as a standalone app as well as an add-on to Disney+, Hulu, or Max. Stay tuned to AllEars for more on Disney’s streaming endeavors. 

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Are you a big sports fan? Is Venu appealing to you at that price point? Let us know in the comments below.