Venu sports streamer: Pricey? Yes. But it might be worth it

Venu, the upcoming and potentially game-changing sports streamer from Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery, appears close to kickoff, and now we know how much it’ll cost. 

The new streaming service, which bundles ESPN, FS1, BTN, TNT, TBS, and other top sports channels offered by the three entertainment conglomerates, will cost sports fans a cool $42.99 a month, according to Variety. (That’s a “launch price,” mind you, so a price increase is–as always–on the table.)

There’s still no specific launch date for Venu, which was first announced back in February. For now, all we know is that the upcoming sports streamer will arrive sometime this fall, presumably in time for NFL football action. 

This news story is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best live TV streaming services.

So, does $42.99 a month sound like a lot, compared to the going rates for the other big streamers? Well, it is—but at the same time, it isn’t. Allow me to explain. 

Sure, Venu may trigger a little sticker shock compared to, say, Max, which bundles its Bleacher Sports add-on for as little as $9.99 a month.  

But Venu is slated to arrive with an ace up its sleeve—namely, its singular focus on sports.  

As our own Jared Newman has previously noted, Venu doesn’t pack in a pile of non-sports channels along with its core sports offerings, a fact that could well upend the traditional streaming bundle. 

Instead, you’ll be getting an impressively well-rounded package of 14 sports-oriented channels, including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SEC Network, ACC Network, ESPNNEWS, ABC, Fox, FS1, Fox Sports 2, the Big Ten Network, TNT, TBS, and TruTV. Venu will also toss in programming from ESPN+ and Max in the bargain, as The Streamable reports. 

While some of those networks do offer some non-sports content (you’d be getting The Bachelor and The Simpsons, for example), most of Venu’s channels focus solely on sports, meaning sports addicts won’t have to pay extra for truckloads of stations they don’t want. 

So if you’re all about sports, you’re no longer stuck with paying $70-plus a month for a live streaming TV service like Hulu + Live TV or YouTube TV.  

And while Sling does offer skinnier live TV bundles than either Hulu or YouTube, it spreads its premier sports networks across its Orange and Blue packages. So, if you want a sport channel lineup from Sling that compares favorably to Venu’s, you’ll need to fork over $60 a month, for a Sling Orange/Blue combo, compared to just $42.99/month for Venu. 

Of course, the proof will be in the pudding, and we still don’t have a hard launch date for Venu.  

But if you want a cable-like live-TV streaming service for sports that doesn’t impose cable-like prices, Venu might be just the ticket. Stay tuned.

Updated shortly after publication to note that the stated Venu monthly rate is a “launch” price.