The monster sports bundle between Walt Disney’s ESPN, FOX, and Warner Bros. Discovery will likely cost more than $30 a month, CNBC reported on Wednesday.
The companies announced the joint venture a day earlier, with the intent to launch the standalone service in the fall. The so-called skinny bundle of 14 cable channels would offer a massive amount of sports programming to fans. Since it’s still early, specific pricing has yet to be been determined. But CNBC cited one person saying that $45 to $50 a month “seemed logical” after discounted introductory offers.
A spokesperson for ESPN said that no price has been determined, and that it would be up to the new leadership team of the joint venture to decide. FOX and Warner Bros. Discovery weren’t immediately available for comment.
But the figures give some indication of how much it’ll cost to subscribe to this service, which incorporates channels such as ESPN, TNT, and FOX Sports, as well as local affiliates from ABC and FOX. FOX CEO Lachlan Murdoch earlier Wednesday told investors that he thought the service would go after “cord nevers” rather than cord cutters, but it’s easy to see sports-loving cable subscribers eyeing this service as well.
A lot will depend on the price.
It’s also unclear if cord cutters, many of whom eschewed live sports or were never into them anyway, will even pay any amount for this service, which is tantamount to a recreation of a limited cable bundle through streaming.
Charter and Comcast weren’t available to comment on the new bundle.