{"id":14797,"date":"2025-08-28T20:46:09","date_gmt":"2025-08-28T20:46:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2025\/08\/28\/what-to-know-about-espn-fox-and-cnns-new-streaming-push-beyond-cable\/"},"modified":"2025-08-28T20:46:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T20:46:10","slug":"what-to-know-about-espn-fox-and-cnns-new-streaming-push-beyond-cable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2025\/08\/28\/what-to-know-about-espn-fox-and-cnns-new-streaming-push-beyond-cable\/","title":{"rendered":"What to Know About ESPN, Fox and CNN\u2019s New Streaming Push Beyond Cable"},"content":{"rendered":"<div itemprop=\"articleBody\">\n<figure id=\"attachment_1573307\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1573307\" style=\"width: 970px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1573307\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">CNN\u00a0plans a direct extension of its live news channel for digital viewers. <span class=\"media-credit\">NurPhoto via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p data-start=\"151\" data-end=\"524\">The walls separating cable television and streaming are collapsing quickly. For years, sports and live news were considered the glue holding the traditional pay-TV bundle together even as scripted shows and movies migrated to <a href=\"https:\/\/observer.com\/company\/netflix\/\" title=\"Netflix\" class=\"company-link\">Netflix<\/a>, Disney+ and other streaming platforms. But now, even that final tether is beginning to fray.<\/p>\n<section class=\"wp-block-observer-newsletters observer-newsletters--in-content\">\n<\/section>\n<p data-start=\"526\" data-end=\"989\">In just the past few days, <a href=\"https:\/\/observer.com\/company\/espn\/\" title=\"ESPN\" class=\"company-link\">ESPN<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/observer.com\/company\/fox\/\" title=\"FOX\" class=\"company-link\">FOX<\/a> have rolled out ambitious new streaming services, while <a href=\"https:\/\/observer.com\/company\/cnn\/\" title=\"CNN\" class=\"company-link\">CNN<\/a> is preparing to launch one later this year. Together, these moves signal a decisive shift: the cable industry\u2019s most established players no longer view streaming as a side experiment. Instead, they\u2019re betting that the future of news, sports and live events lies outside the cable box in standalone apps and subscriptions that look nothing like the old bundles.<\/p>\n<h3 data-start=\"991\" data-end=\"1061\">ESPN\u2019s flagship streamer brings the full network to cord-cutters<\/h3>\n<p data-start=\"1063\" data-end=\"1555\">Live sports has always been one of the most important pieces of any TV package. The network\u2019s new direct-to-consumer streaming service makes ESPN\u2019s full suite of channels available for the first time without a cable subscription.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1557\" data-end=\"1956\">The launch, on Aug. 21, was timed to coincide with college football season, alongside the NFL kickoff, the U.S. Open in tennis, and more. Accessible through an updated ESPN app, the service includes 12 linear networks, the content previously available on ESPN+, and staples like <em data-start=\"1823\" data-end=\"1837\">SportsCenter<\/em> and <em data-start=\"1842\" data-end=\"1854\">First Take<\/em>. New features include multiview camera angles and a personalized, A.I.-powered <em data-start=\"1934\" data-end=\"1948\">SportsCenter<\/em> feed.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1958\" data-end=\"1992\">There are now two main packages:<\/p>\n<ul data-start=\"1994\" data-end=\"2596\">\n<li data-start=\"1994\" data-end=\"2374\">\n<p data-start=\"1996\" data-end=\"2374\"><strong data-start=\"1996\" data-end=\"2014\">ESPN Unlimited<\/strong> ($29.99\/month or $299.99 annually): The first time all of ESPN\u2019s linear channels can be streamed directly by consumers without cable. Until now, fans needed either a traditional TV subscription or a live-streaming service like Sling TV to access the flagship channels.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"2375\" data-end=\"2596\">\n<p data-start=\"2377\" data-end=\"2596\"><strong data-start=\"2377\" data-end=\"2392\">ESPN Select<\/strong> ($11.99\/month or $119.99 annually): Essentially the rebranded ESPN+, which has existed since 2018. It includes documentaries, studio shows and some live sports but excludes the main ESPN linear feeds.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 data-start=\"2734\" data-end=\"2794\">Fox bundles news, sports and entertainment in one app<\/h3>\n<p data-start=\"2796\" data-end=\"3126\">Fox has launched Fox One, a $19.99-per-month service that streams all of the company\u2019s sports, entertainment and news content in one place. The platform builds on Fox Nation, its earlier streaming venture designed for \u201csuperfans\u201d with documentaries, patriotic series and next-day access to primetime shows.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3128\" data-end=\"3490\">Fox One, however, goes much further: it streams Fox News Channel live, includes sports and entertainment, and comes with unlimited cloud DVR storage. Personalized recommendations and highlights are part of the pitch, along with bundle options. Subscribers can add Fox Nation, or starting in October, combine Fox One with ESPN\u2019s new service for $39.99 per month.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3492\" data-end=\"3755\">Fox also touts A.I.-driven personalization to help users discover new content. The goal, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/observer.com\/person\/pete-distad\/\" title=\"Pete Distad\" class=\"company-link\">Pete Distad<\/a>, CEO of Fox\u2019s direct-to-consumer business, is to target \u201cthe cord-cutter and cord-never fans currently not served by conventional pay TV packages.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3 data-start=\"3757\" data-end=\"3797\">CNN prepares its next digital push<\/h3>\n<p data-start=\"3799\" data-end=\"4066\">Later this fall, CNN will launch its own streaming product. The service will build on CNN\u2019s subscription package, introduced in October 2024, which gives users unlimited access to CNN.com and subscriber-only content.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"4068\" data-end=\"4503\">Pricing remains unknown, but one distinction is clear: unlike CNN+, the short-lived experiment shuttered in 2022, the new service will function as a true extension of the linear CNN channel. It will stream live news, offer video-on-demand, and include original programming and documentaries. CNN+, by contrast, leaned more on lifestyle and supplementary content and never positioned itself as a full-fledged alternative to cable CNN.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"4505\" data-end=\"4831\">\u201cCNN has been leading and innovating in video-led journalism since its inception, and the expansion of our subscription offering to include streaming embodies that pioneering spirit,\u201d Alex MacCallum, CNN\u2019s EVP of digital products and services, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com\/2025\/05\/14\/cnns-new-streaming-product-launching-this-fall\/\">said in an announcement in May.<\/a> Current pay-TV subscribers will receive access to the new service for free.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" itemprop=\"image\" src=\"https:\/\/observer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-1631901017.jpg?quality=80&amp;w=970\" alt=\"What to Know About ESPN, Fox and CNN\u2019s New Streaming Push Beyond Cable\" style=\"display:none;width:0;\"\/><\/p><\/div>\n<p><script>\n\t!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n\t{if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n\t\tn.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n\t\tif(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n\t\tn.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n\t\tt.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n\t\ts.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script',\n\t\t'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n\tfbq('init', '618909876214345');\n\tfbq('track', 'PageView');\n<\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CNN\u00a0plans a direct extension of its live news channel for digital viewers. NurPhoto via Getty Images The walls separating cable television and streaming are collapsing quickly. For years, sports and live news were considered the glue holding the traditional pay-TV bundle together even as scripted shows and movies migrated to Netflix, Disney+ and other streaming [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14798,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-usa-news"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14797","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14797"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14797\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14799,"href":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14797\/revisions\/14799"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14798"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}