Yahoo Sports has teamed with C15 Studio to launch the Yahoo Sports Network, a FAST channel offering more than 60 hours per week of original reporting on gameplay from the NFL, NBA, MLB and more. Included are live series such as “The Ariel Helwani Show,” “Yahoo Sports Daily,” “Inside Coverage” and “Yahoo Fantasy Forecast,” mixed in with recorded programming including “The Kevin O’Connor Show,” “Football 301” and others. Initially available on LG Channels and Sling Freestream, Yahoo Sports Network plans availability on Samsung TV Plus, Amazon Fire TV, Fubo, Plex, Prime Video and The Roku Channel in the weeks ahead. Continue reading Yahoo and C15 Launch FAST Channel: Yahoo Sports Network

The Walt Disney Company and Fox Corporation are joining forces to market their sports streaming services. In addition to being sold separately, ESPN’s upcoming direct-to-consumer platform and FOX One will be offered as a $39.99 monthly bundle starting October 2. Both individual services debut August 21, with ESPN charging $29.99 per month and FOX One priced at $19.99 monthly. FOX One will include Fox’s NFL and MLB telecasts as well as FOX News, FOX Weather, FOX Business, FOX Broadcasting and more, while the ESPN DTC service will include access to ESPN’s linear networks, ESPN+ and ESPN on ABC. Continue reading ESPN DTC and FOX One Merging into Mega Package This Fall

The long-awaited Apple TV app for Android mobile devices has officially launched on the Google Play Store, providing Android users access to original series and movies on Apple TV+ (currently offered as a seven-day free trial), in addition to MLS Season Pass (in time for Major League Soccer’s 2025 season that begins the weekend of February 22). Apple TV+ also offers a Major League Baseball double-header on Fridays with no local broadcast restrictions. Subscriptions to Apple TV+ and MLS Season Pass are available through Google Play accounts for Android mobile and Google TV devices. The Apple TV+ subscription presently runs $9.99 per month. Continue reading Apple TV App Is Available via Google Play for Android Devices

Apple TV+ will be available as a $9.99 monthly add-on with Amazon Prime Video in the U.S., allowing users to use the service in one app with a single bill, the companies announced. The deal has the mutual upside of adding the cachet of award-winning Apple originals like “The Morning Show” and “Ted Lasso” to Amazon Prime, while getting Apple TV+ in front of Prime’s more than 100 million U.S. households. Apple doesn’t release specific subscriber numbers for Apple TV+, which has reportedly accrued about 25 million paid global subscribers since its 2019 launch. Continue reading Apple TV+ to Be Available as an Amazon Prime Video Add-On

The Roku Sports Channel is a new 24/7 FAST channel launching Monday. Combining all the Roku premium sports offerings into “a dedicated, one-click, lean-back experience,” it will feature live Major League Baseball games with the MLB Sunday Leadoff game, Emmy-nominated talk show “The Rich Eisen Show,” NFL program “GMFB: Overtime,” live Formula E races, and sports-themed Roku Originals like “NFL Draft: The Pick Is In,” “WWE: Next Gen,” and “Fight Inc: Inside the UFC.” The channel will also feature exclusive partner content, such as classic boxing matches from Top Rank and combat competitions from Swerve Sports. Continue reading Roku Launching Dedicated FAST Sports Channel Next Week

Major League Baseball has rolled out a standalone streaming option of MLB Network for $5.99 per month without requiring a pay-TV subscription. The direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service is currently available to baseball fans in the U.S. without the need for cable, satellite or Internet TV. For die-hard fans, the MLB Network + At Bat bundle — available for $6.99 per month — also includes live game audio for all MLB teams through MLB At Bat, live Minor League Baseball games, and access to highlights and live look-ins via MLB Big Inning. Current MLB.TV subscribers can stream MLB Network for the rest of this season at no additional cost. Continue reading MLB Network Launches $5.99 Standalone Streaming Service

Venu Sports (pronounced “venue”) has been selected as the name of the new streaming joint venture launching this fall from Disney/ESPN, Fox Corporation and Warner Bros. Discovery. Although pricing has yet to be announced (some estimate it will run $40-$50 per month), the partners are underway in branding their bundled package, unveiled in February as an effort to reach sports fans who don’t already subscribe to pay TV. In March the group announced the new venture’s CEO would be Pete Distad, who spent six years at Hulu followed by a decade at Apple in positions including running global distribution and business ops for Apple TV+. Continue reading Venu Sports Is Name of New Streamer from ESPN, FOX, WBD

Apple Sports is a new free app for iPhones that delivers real-time scores, stats and more via a GUI designed by Apple. Available to download from the App Store in the U.S., Canada and UK, the app currently tracks Major League Soccer, Premier League soccer, the National Basketball Association, men’s and women’s NCAA basketball, and the National Hockey League, among others. More sports will be added over time, Apple said, mentioning Major League Baseball and the National Football League. The concept is designed to keep fans continuously connected to their favorite teams while driving Apple TV tune-in. Continue reading Apple Sports App Provides Stats, Real-Time Scores and More

FOX, Warner Bros. Discovery and The Walt Disney Company through its subsidiary ESPN are finalizing plans to form a new, multi-league sports streaming service expected to launch this fall. The direct-to-consumer offering would be made available via a new app and subscriptions could also be bundled with existing services like Disney+, Hulu and Max. The media companies launching the joint venture — who will each have one-third ownership of the new platform — have yet to announce a name or pricing model, but said content will be “from all the major professional sports leagues and college sports.” Continue reading Disney, FOX, WBD Finalizing a New Sports Streaming Venture

Warner Bros. Discovery will begin adding free live sports to its Max streaming service beginning October 5 as a promotional period. Beginning February 29, 2024, subscribers will be charged an additional $10 per month to keep it as part of the new “Bleacher Report Sports Add-On Tier.” Max streaming sports will include Major League Baseball playoff games, regular-season National Basketball Association and National Hockey League games, U.S. soccer and the NCAA men’s basketball March Madness. The sports fee will be in addition to the subscription price for ad-supported or commercial-free Max. Continue reading WBD Will Begin Streaming Live Sports on Max in Two Weeks

Peacock struck a deal with Meta Platforms that will allow its subscribers to view movies, TV shows and sports in virtual reality on Meta Quest 2 and Meta Quest Pro headsets. That includes MLB and NFL games, “all in VR on your own giant, personal screen.” VR will be available to all Peacock subscribers, starting with the ad-subsidized $4.99 per month Premium tier, but those who sign-up with a qualifying Quest 2 or Quest Pro before April 11, 2024 will be eligible to receive Peacock Premium for 12 months at no additional cost. Those who had qualifying Meta headsets registered on or before April 11, 2023 will be eligible for three free months of Peacock Premium. Continue reading Peacock Now Streaming VR Content on Meta Quest Headsets

Big Tech has become a disruptor in the marketplace for sports rights, with Amazon and Apple bidding against traditional media for rights to NFL and MLB games in addition to college conference competition and Formula 1 racing, according to recent reports. Among the prizes, DirecTV’s expiring rights to the NFL Sunday Ticket, a package that is being shopped with a $2.5 billion annual price tag, $1 billion more than the satellite operator’s current deal, which ends in January. In addition, Google is said to be bidding on behalf of YouTube. Beginning September 15, Amazon Prime Video begins its exclusive carriage deal for “Thursday Night Football.”  Continue reading Big Tech Drives Up Sports Prices as Amazon, Apple Go All In

Regional Sports Network NESN is launching a subscription streaming service called NESN 360 for $29.99 per month, with the first month priced at $1. NESN 360 allows fans to purchase a direct subscription to NESN’s live programming and video-on-demand content. Launched in partnership with the Boston Red Sox, the Boston Bruins and Major League Baseball, NESN 360 makes NESN the first regional sports network in the country to launch a direct-to-consumer service bypassing cable. Annual subscriptions are priced at $329.99 and include eight tickets to see the Red Sox play in 2022. Continue reading NESN Is First Regional Sportscaster Offering DTC Streaming

Wearing a blue sweater and yellow Apple Watch in solidarity with Ukraine, Apple CEO Tim Cook unveiled the budget 5G iPhone SE during a “Peek Performance” virtual event streamed live Tuesday morning. In addition, Apple revealed an M1-powered iPad Air, the sizzling Mac Studio for professionals and a 27-inch studio monitor to go with it. The event concluded with a teaser for the new Mac Pro. Cook also announced “Friday Night Baseball” is coming to Apple TV+ (“a weekly doubleheader with live pre- and post-game shows”) and said the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro will come in green and alpine green, respectively. The new gear hits the market March 18. Continue reading Apple Rolls Out 5G iPhone SE, iPad Air, Mac Studio Desktop

FOX is introducing a sports content hub on its free streaming service Tubi. “Sports on Tubi” will add 10 live-streaming sports channels to its existing offerings, including FOX Sports, FOX Deportes, NFL, MLB, beIN Sports Xtra and beIN Sports Xtra en Español, Fubo Sports Network, Pac-12 Insider, Stadium and USA Today SportsWire, as well as channels for the ACC and Real Madrid later this year. The channels, which will only be available in the United States, will debut first on Amazon Fire TV and Roku and Android devices. Continue reading FOX’s Tubi Plans to Expand Sports Programming in the U.S.