While Google, Amazon, Netflix and Apple have begun to invest in the sports broadcasting rights market, the “historical players” in the sector have announced that they are joining forces to respond to this in the United States.
So, ESPN, FOX And Warner Bros. Discoveryuntil now competitors and which total 15 television channels and the broadcasting rights of the four major US sports (NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB) had announced the creation of a common streaming platform, called “Venu Sports”!
While the attention market is evolving, this was a major change in strategy, particularly for ESPN, which did not broadcast major sporting events on its own streaming service, ESPN+, in order not to compete. with its television channels.
A bad basic idea?
This service, which was only to be accessible in the United States, promised to be able to follow the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, WNBA, NASCAR, university sports as well as “March Madness” but also golf and tennis competitions or even the Football World Cup.
Except that the projectcriticized by elected officials under antitrust laws of the United States, will ultimately never see the light of day, the three groups announcing that they will not launch it…
“After careful consideration, we have collectively decided to terminate the Venu Sports joint venture and not launch the streaming service” they explain in a joint press release. “In an ever-changing market, we decided it was best to meet the changing demands of sports fans by focusing on existing products and distribution channels. »
For fans of American sports, this is not good news because the broadcast offering will be increasingly fragmented. On the other hand, for the NBA, which has always taken advantage of competition between large television groups to raise the prices of its TV contracts, this aborted launch is rather good news.
