FOX NFL Sunday will be part of a massive broadcast restructure involving ESPN, but the product could miss the beginning of the 2025 football season.
Fox Sports and ESPN agreed to the broadcast shake-up on Monday.
Disney’s ESPN and Fox Corp. are teaming up to bundle their upcoming direct-to-consumer streaming services, the companies revealed.
ESPN’s streaming service, ESPN+, and Fox’s Fox One will both launch on August 21, which is ahead of the college football and NFL seasons.
However, the combined offering will be made available on October 2 and will miss the start of the two football seasons.
The college football campaign begins on Saturday, August 23, while the NFL campaign begins on Thursday, September 4.
The price will be $39.99 per month, which is $10 more than ESPN’s streaming service.
Fox One, which will feature the network’s hit show Fox NFL Sunday starring Terry Bradshaw and Michael Strahan, among others, will cost $19.99 per month on its own.
ESPN will also provide its app as a bundle with Disney’s other streaming services, Disney+ and Hulu, for $35.99 per month.
That bundle will have a discounted price of $29.99 a month for the first 12 months.
Both Fox and ESPN were set to be part of Venu, a joint sports venture with Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery, but the efforts were abandoned.
But the new bundle will have some of Venu’s framework.
The product will also include Fox News, Fox Business, and Fox Weather.
Both Disney and Fox hope the new bundled service will not increase cord-cutting.
Both Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch and ESPN CEO Bob Iger shared during separate earnings calls last week that they were looking to bundle options with other services.
“Announcing ESPN as our first bundle partner is evidence of our desire to deliver the best possible value and viewing experience to our shared customers,” said Tony Billetter, senior vice president of strategy and business development for FOX’s direct to consumer segment, in a press release on Monday.
Fans can watch ESPN’s First Take, which stars personality Stephen A. Smith, on the upcoming streaming platform bundle product[/caption]
Last week, ESPN strengthened the company’s content on its streaming app after agreeing to a deal with the WWE for the US rights to the wrestling league’s big events, beginning in 2026.
WrestleMania, The Royal Rumble, and SummerSlam are among the events included.
ESPN also reached an agreement with the NFL that will see the sports media company receive the NFL Network and other media properties from the league.
The deal will likely begin for the 2026 NFL season.
