The NFL plans to schedule only two Christmas games again next season; the newest four-letter word in sports media is “Venu,” the name bestowed upon the ESPN-Fox-WBD joint streaming venture set to launch this year. Plus: the presidential debates figure to take less of a bite out of sports viewing this year.
NFL plans for two Christmas games again in ’25
The NFL currently plans to schedule only two games on Christmas of next season, when the holiday falls on a Thursday, league executive Hans Schroeder said Thursday. Netflix would carry a game in the afternoon as part of its three-year Christmas rights deal, while Amazon would air its usual Thursday Night Football game.
Assuming the NFL does not go back on its word — as it did this year, when it decided to schedule two games on the holiday after initially planning none — broadcast television will be shut out of Christmas Day games until 2026 at the earliest. The NFL scheduled three games on the holiday the past two seasons.
ESPN-Fox-WBD joint venture has name: Venu
The joint streaming venture between Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox Corporation has been given the name “Venu,” it was announced Thursday. The name — officially “Venu Sports” — was unveiled alongside an accompanying logo and website. The “Venu” logo is displayed in mostly-lowercase and a bright orange color that brings to mind the logo of the similarly-named Fubo streaming service, which filed a lawsuit earlier this year seeking to block the joint venture.
It is not clear what, if anything, “Venu” is supposed to mean. It is not necessarily unique, as the Garmin company makes smartwatches of the same name. Like Fubo and Hulu, it is short and easy to say, and those were presumably the main considerations.
Venu is expected to launch this fall and will include a live stream of all the Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox Corporation channels that carry live sports — from broadcast networks ABC and FOX to cable staples ESPN and TNT. No launch date has been announced nor has any pricing information.
Presidential debates scheduled on slow sports nights
The leading presidential candidates have agreed to a pair of debates on June 27 and September 10, it was announced Wednesday. The first debate would coincide with the second night of the NBA Draft, which this year is expanding to multiple nights for the first time. The second would take place on the night after Week 1 of the NFL season concludes, when there will be little in the way of live sports competition.
The first debate will air only on CNN and the second on ABC, a marked shift from previous elections in which the debates aired at the same time across all of the broadcast networks.
