Turner to Stream Soccer -- WSJ
August 18 2017 - 3:02AM
Dow Jones News
Time Warner unit acts as more media target consumers directly,
bypassing cable
By Joe Flint
This article is being republished as part of our daily
reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S.
print edition of The Wall Street Journal (August 18, 2017).
Time Warner Inc.'s Turner Sports is launching a streaming,
direct-to-consumer subscription service that will be a platform to
air the Union of European Football Associations' Champions League
and Europa League soccer matches.
The move is part of a push by traditional media companies to
launch digital services that reach consumers directly, instead of
relying on traditional cable and satellite distributors. Such
experiments are becoming more common as consumers drop cable
service and embrace newer outlets such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and
Hulu.
The as-yet unnamed Turner network, whose price hasn't been
decided, will launch in 2018 when the company's new rights deal for
UEFA matches starts. Turner Sports acquired the English-language
rights to UEFA matches in a three-year deal valued at more than
$180 million, a person familiar with the matter said.
It is the third streaming service Turner has unveiled in less
than two years. It has an animated service called Boomerang and a
movie service called FilmStruck that specializes in art house
films.
"This is part of a companywide strategy to innovate beyond the
traditional ecosystem," said Turner President David Levy.
Last week, Walt Disney Co. said it was creating
direct-to-consumer subscription streaming services for its ESPN
sports unit as well as its entertainment programming. CBS Corp.,
which already has a streaming news service and a direct-to-consumer
version of its CBS network that also features exclusive content,
also said last week it was launching a digital sports service later
this year.
Turner, owner of TNT and TBS, won't be putting all of its
available sports rights, such as National Basketball Association
and Major League Baseball games, into the online service, much as
ESPN is only putting a selection of its sports rights into the
online service.
While the majority of the more than 340 UEFA games annually that
are part of the package will appear on the online sports service,
Turner's TruTV network will also have a significant number of
matches and games will also appear on TNT and TBS.
UEFA rights were previously held by 21st Century Fox's Fox
Sports unit. Univision holds the Spanish-language rights.
Turner will also look to use its popular sports news and
commentary website Bleacher Report as a platform to promote the
league and a gateway to the streaming network.
Soccer won't be the only sport on the service. Turner Sports
President Lenny Daniels said he is "open for business" and having
conversations with other sports leagues about the service.
Write to Joe Flint at joe.flint@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 18, 2017 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Time Warner (NYSE:TWX)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
Time Warner (NYSE:TWX)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024