On the latest Sporticast episode, hosts Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams discuss some of the biggest sports business stories of the week, including Disney‘s surprise deal to merge Hulu‘s live TV property and Fubo.
While the two brands will continue to operate under their own names, the plan is to create a new sports “skinny bundle” featuring ESPN networks and other channels. That could including national channels and regional sports offerings. Disney will own approximately 70% of Fubo moving forward, and Fubo will drop its lawsuit against Disney/ESPN over the planned launch of Venu, another sports streaming roll-up that is a partnership between ESPN, Fox and WBD.
The hosts talk about how changes in sports media consumption and M&A have make the enticing idea of a “skinny bundle” almost impossible. Streamers like Apple, Netflix and Amazon buying up more live rights will make it increasingly difficult to keep sports rights in one package. They also talk about pricing, the previous legal battle and the challenge of informing sports fans about what various different packages are available.
Next they talk about NWSL expansion. They league has reached an agreement to place its 16th franchise in Denver, with the first part of a $110 million expansion fee paid last week. Its the most expensive expansion fee in U.S. sports history, and among the most ever paid for entry into a women’s sports league worldwide.
Lastly, they discuss a new DraftKings product that is polarizing users. The sports betting operator is rolling out a new subscription service, called Sportsbook+, that lets members receive profit boosts on some parlays. The service is launching in New York, a state with high taxes—revenue from the service will not be taxed like sports betting revenue—and it’s unclear how quickly it might spread to other markets.
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