Sports fans who’ve been counting down to the debut of ESPN’s standalone streaming service and Fox’s new Fox One platform are getting an extra twist: the two longtime rivals will be teaming up. On October 2, ESPN Ultimate and Fox One will launch together in a $40-a-month bundle, a $10 discount from buying each separately.
The individual services will both debut on August 21. ESPN Ultimate, priced at $30 per month, delivers the company’s full linear channel lineup (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, SEC Network, ACC Network, and more), along with ESPN+, ESPN3, and streaming-only versions like SECN+ and ACCNX. Fox One, slated to cost $20 per month on its own, includes Fox Sports, FS1, FS2, and a variety of non-sports offerings such as Fox News, Fox Business, Fox Weather, Fox Nation, local Fox affiliates, and the Fox broadcast network.
The deal evokes the ill-fated Venu Sports — a $40 monthly sports streaming venture that was set to combine ESPN, Warner Bros., and Fox’s sports assets. That plan collapsed earlier this year after a federal injunction was issued in response to a lawsuit from Fubo, forcing the companies to abandon the project.
The ESPN/Fox partnership sidesteps the multi-company tangle that doomed Venu by involving only two players. The companies are framing the bundle as a way to “meet consumers where they are—anytime, anywhere,” while making premium sports more accessible in a crowded streaming landscape.
Still, $40 a month for just two sports-heavy services may be a tough sell for viewers already juggling streaming bills. But for cord-cutters who want the bulk of ESPN and Fox’s sports programming without cable, this bundle could be the most direct replacement yet.
