We finally know what the streaming joint venture offering sports will cost subscribers when it launches. Venu will cost subscribers 42 dollars while offering access to Fox Sports, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, ESPNEWS, ABC, FOX, FS1, FS2, BTN, TNT, TBS, truTV, as well as ESPN+.
The idea was launched by Warner Bros Discovery, Disney and Fox Sports in order to provide a new sports-centric streaming option for sports fans who want access to the channel lineup without also adding 50 or so other channels for the access.
At $42.99 the starting price lands at the same type of price point that Hulu with live TV and YouTube TV originally launched with. This is probably too big of an ask at this point. This year the service would give users access to every nationally broadcast game on the NBA schedule, but starting in the 2025 regular season TNT will not be a home for NBA basketball reducing its sports output to NHL Hockey, two college football playoff games and the French Open tennis tournament. And you can expect year two to come with a price increase.
The big get in this package is the ESPN family of networks. I’m sorry but FS 1 and FS2 simply don’t have the same cache. Plus the ESPN networks are almost exclusively cable options. That makes them vastly different than FOX and ABC, which are both broadcast networks available over the air with an antenna. And while not everybody everywhere can effectively utilize an antenna, millions can and in our opinion should.
By the service’s second year, it will be unable to offer access to 84 regular season games on TNT as well a huge chunk of the NBA Playoffs. This is substantial if subscribers are looking for NBA basketball. Sure ESPN and ABC offer 100 regular season games and about half of the playoffs, but a substantial drop off from the 24-25 season. And you can bet that it will not get a substantial price cut to reflect the loss of content.
Is anybody signing up for the service desperate for FS1? Has there been a national call for a streamer for the French Open?
Here is my guess.Venu will peak in its first year. At the end of NFL football season you will see a big drop. Another drop after the NBA finals. Then after TNT looses its cash cow you will see a price increase followed by another drop off in subscribers.
Yes, sports are popular. Live sports are the ratings leaders and most coveted content on TV. But the market is all but saturated with live TV streaming services. YouTube TV may be developing a major gravitational pull.
At $72.99 YTTV is powered by its name recognition, channel selection, DVR and now its exclusive deal for the NFL Sunday Ticket. It also offers NBC, FOX, ABC and CBS which means that NFL fans can tune into almost every NFL game on TV aside from the Amazon Thursday night game. Venu on the other hand can’t offer NBC, CBS or Amazon’s weekly games.
At $76.99Â Hulu With Live TV offers NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox will offers TNT, the ESPN family of networks, ESPN+, Disney+ and Hulu’s entire on-demand service.
And here is the thing. Not every TV watcher cares about sports. There are people who just want to be able to tune into their favorite cable news shows, or watch shows like American Idol and the voice live who could care less about football and basketball. And if they happen to be part of the same households that Venu will be targeting I doubt the more balanced services will just be cut in favor of a service without any offerings outside of the sports channels.
This service comes off as too little, too late. Viewers are going to wonder why it offers ABC and FOX but not NBC and CBS. Those who follow the industry understand ownership but most people will just wonder why their game isn’t available and feel tricked. And if the service survives long enough to begin negotiations with the rest of the NFL rights holders, which seems unlikely, the cost of integrating two more major networks and Peacock into the mix would likely raise the cost by another 20 bucks. And that’s just based on the cost of Peacock and Paramount+.
Venu as constituted is only a value for users who can receive network TV via an antenna who only want to add sports content to their TV viewing. Anybody looking for anything else will not find it with Venu. Is that a big enough market to build 4-6 million subs? At $42.99I just don’t think so.
Plus, once ESPN’s future direct offering comes out, the value proposition of Venu for antenna users who just “need” the ESPN networks vastly decreases. I would love to see the Big Ten network offer a direct option.