ESPN and Fox Willingly Bundle Their Massive Upcoming Streaming Services $40-A Month

Alright, so here’s the tea on ESPN and Fox bundling their brand-new streaming services. And by “tea,” I mean you’ll have to pay $39.99/month for the pair starting October 2. Both ESPN and Fox are dropping their shiny new streaming platforms on August 21. 

ESPN and Fox Flex Together For Partnership

ESPN is flexing its marquee sports programming, such as the NFL and the NBA, while Fox One offers a wide range of content, from live sports to Fox News and your local weather forecast. Maybe both companies were inspired by Disney+ and Hulu, huh? All your Sunday night football thrills and Monday morning pundit rants wrapped into one neat package. Sounds efficient, right?

Well, the actual bundle doesn’t go live ’til October 2, which feels a lot like they’re trying to milk early adopters first. Smart business move? Sure. Cool for customers who hate feeling like ATMs? Not so much. Okay, it’s all about priorities here. If you’re a hardcore sports fan who doesn’t mind bouncing between Fox Sports, football games on ABC, or random NBA matchups, this bundle might make sense.

Toss in Paramount+ and Peacock, and your setup becomes cheaper than the bloated cable packages of yore. Hear that, pay-TV providers? We didn’t love you anyway. BUT, there are downsides. First up, anyone out there who cares about Fox News (pause for dramatic eye-roll)—you’re now subsidizing it, whether you tune in or not. The same goes for ESPN’s price creep over time. You know they’ll boost rates the second they think you’re hooked. Spoiler alert: they always do.

ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro is all about expanding their standalone streaming empire, while Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch wants Fox One to hit “healthy” price points. Translation? They’re both chasing subscriber dollars hardcore as traditional cable continues its dramatic freefall. Meanwhile, sports fans like you get to be guinea pigs in their latest business experiment. Yay?

For $39.99 a month, here’s the TL;DR (too long; didn’t read): All your beloved ESPN programming + the endless veggies of local news and Fox Business. A rare (and debatably) “good deal” in the confusing mess of streaming services. One app login to rule them all… sort of. Hey, fewer passwords to remember, right?

Final Thoughts

Will this satisfy the average sports fanatic? Sure, probably. Is it revolutionary? Not exactly. Honestly, with the way streaming is evolving, it’s like we’re recreating cable packages layer by layer, but with less cohesion and way more subscription fees. The more things change, the more they do stay the same.

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