Warner Bros. Discovery has officially announced the launch date and pricing for the new live sports tier on “Max.” Plus: the XFL and USFL are reportedly nearing a merger, and more sports media news.
WBD officially announces live sports tier on “Max”
Warner Bros. Discovery officially announced Tuesday that its streaming service “Max” (formerly HBO Max) will begin carrying simulcasts of live sporting events aired by its linear networks (TNT, TBS and TruTV) starting October 5. The live sports offering will be available as a Bleacher Report-branded add-on that will be offered to subscribers for no additional cost until February of next year, at which point it will cost $10/month.
All of the sporting events carried by the WBD networks will be available via the add-on, including the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball. So too will shoulder programming such as “Inside the NBA.”
Max will become the first direct-to-subscriber service to offer simulcasts of nationally televised NBA and Major League Baseball games. (The Major League Baseball games on ESPN+ are RSN simulcasts.) The majority of nationally televised NHL games on ESPN and ABC are available to stream via ESPN+. (WBD PR)
XFL, USFL, reportedly nearing merger
The XFL and USFL are in serious discussions about a potential merger and a deal is possible as soon as this week, according to multiple reports Tuesday. The USFL completed its second year in July and the current iteration of the XFL finished its first back in May, with the two leagues overlapping for several weeks.
Per Axios, which was first to report the news, games in the merged league would be split between Fox — which owns the USFL — and XFL broadcast partner Disney. (Axios 9.19)
Plus: Eagle, “Winning Time,” Patriot League
— Play-by-play voice Noah Eagle will call ten Brooklyn Nets games for YES Network during the coming season, the New York Post reported Monday. Eagle, whose father Ian is the lead voice of the Nets on YES, has been the radio voice of the Los Angeles Clippers since 2019. He also serves as the lead voice of NBC’s Big Ten college football coverage and will call this year’s Super Bowl simulcast on Nickelodeon. (NYP 9.18)
— The HBO series “Winning Time,” a dramatization of the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers based on the book “Showtime” by Jeff Pearlman, has been canceled. The show lasted two seasons. (The Hollywood Reporter 9.17)
— ESPN on Tuesday announced that it has reached a multi-year contract extension with the Patriot League to continue carrying the conference’s various events on the ESPN+ streaming service. (ESPN PR)
