DirecTV is launching a package aimed at viewers who mostly watch sports.
The slim MySports package was announced on Tuesday and will include 40 sports and radio channels. It will launch in 24 markets, and those in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, and the San Francisco Bay Area (Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose) will be able to receive local ABC, NBC, and Fox affiliates.
“We've been on this journey for what amounts to a little over a year, trying to figure out what consumers want, what might resonate most with them, and then translating that work into negotiations with DirecTV chief marketing officer Vince Torres. Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery, NBC and others to make sure we have the ability to package that content into these small packages.”
The MySports package includes ESPN, Fox Sports Networks, ACC, SEC, Big Ten, Golf Channel, TNT, TBS, TruTV and USA Network as well as networks from the NFL, NHL, NBA and MLB. More markets and local ABC, Fox and NBC stations will be added as agreements with affiliates are reached.
CBS and Paramount owned channels are not currently included.
The package also includes channels available from MyFree DirecTV ad-supported channels. DirecTV will also add streaming channel ESPN+ and more direct-to-consumer channels in the future.
The package announcement comes less than a week after Venu Sports – the sports streaming joint venture between Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery – it won't last.
DirecTV was embroiled in a nearly two-week dispute with The Walt Disney Company last September over a new carriage agreement in which DirecTV sought the ability to offer smaller packages of channels. As part of the agreement, DirecTV can offer Disney-owned channels in sports, entertainment, kids and family packages.
DirecTV has plans to launch packages in other genres soon.
According to an American Television Alliance poll last fall, 78% of sports viewers said they would prefer an option with smaller channel packages.
The MySports package has an introductory price of $49.99 per month for the first three months. By comparison, DirecTV's lowest-priced package after MySports costs $86.99 for more than 90 channels plus local stations.
