After the sudden demise of Venu Sports last week, DirecTV is launching a similar streaming service called MySports priced at $70 a month.
The new service will offer “40 top sports and broadcast channels” from Disney (which has ABC and ESPN), Fox (Fox and Fox Sports 1), NBC Universal (NBC and USA Network) and Warner Bros. Discovery (TBS, TNT and TruTV).
NBC Universal’s involvement is notable as the company was not expected to be part of the Venu Sports bid. In addition to televising Sunday Night Football and college sports, NBC will also be one of the new homes of the NBA starting with the upcoming 2025-26 basketball season.
Currently, CBS is not included in the package, though DirecTV tells CNET it is “in discussions” with the channel. There aren’t even regional sports networks on MySports, so those looking for those channels will have to step up to one of DirecTV’s more expensive plans.
Read more: Our picks for the best live TV streaming services
Channels from the major leagues themselves — such as the NFL Network, NBA TV, MLB Network and NHL Network — will be part of the package, as will a handful of college sports-focused channels like the ACC Network, Big Ten Network and SEC Network. DirecTV says it plans to add “additional networks, local stations and ESPN Plus” to MySports “at no additional cost in the near future.”
Like DirectTV Stream, MySports is streaming only and customers do not need to have a satellite to access the service. The company says the service will be extended to satellite users at a later date. You can access the service through the DirecTV app, which is available on a variety of platforms, including iOS, Android, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Google TV and Roku.
As part of a launch promotion, the company is offering a five-day “risk-free” trial, as well as a $20 per month deal for the first three months (which would drop the monthly fee to $50 per month for those months ). .
There are no contracts for MySports and users can cancel or renew their subscription at will.
DirecTV will launch the new package in 24 “major metro areas” with New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia and the San Francisco Bay Area getting all three broadcast networks first. Customers in the other 19 markets will have some local stations, but that will change with DirecTV planning to expand offerings to include local channels as it reaches deals with relevant local affiliates. The company says it plans to expand into new markets as it signs deals with more local stations.
Beyond sports-focused channels from the major networks, MySports will have channels not typically associated with athletics. This includes news stations such as CNBC, CNN, MSNBC and Fox News. There’s also support for 4K as well as unlimited cloud DVR.
I am picking up where Venu Sports left off
Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery made waves last year when they announced sports streaming service Venu Sports. This service was designed to bring cable channels from all three companies (including ESPN, ABC, Fox, TNT and TBS) in a smaller package that wouldn’t cost as much as a larger TV package from cable, satellite or streaming like YouTube. TV, Hulu Plus Live TV, Fubo, Sling TV or DirecTV.
The first 12 months of service would cost $43 a month, a big discount from cable TV and even YouTube TV, which now costs $83 a month. Given that it currently lacks CBS, the original version of MySports looks a bit like Sling TV’s Orange and Blue package, which typically costs about $66 a month in areas that include local ABC, Fox and NBC feeds plus ESPN, TNT and TBS.
After litigation by Fubo delayed the launch of Venu Sports, the three media companies announced last week that they would no longer pursue the launch of the service. This announcement came after Disney and Fubo revealed that they had settled all lawsuits and that Fubo would be merging with Disney’s Hulu Plus Live service.
At $70 a month (after the initial discount), the new DirecTV MySports package could be a compelling alternative, especially since it offers a variety of non-sports focused channels like TNT, TBS, USA Network and major news channels.
As part of the Disney deal, Fubo will also be able to launch its own sports-focused streaming packages in the future with Disney channels.
