SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – From Netflix to Hulu to MAX – the number of streaming services are growing.
Recently, Disney, Fox, and Warner Brothers Discovery announced a streaming service collaboration featuring Disney- owned ESPN games like major professional leagues and college conferences. The goal is to draw the eyes of sports fans turning away from cable. But some Vermonters aren’t ready to press the off button just yet.
“I purchase enough with cable and the 2 services that we do stream so I don’t think I would go any further,” Georgia resident Chad Nielsen said.
On the other hand, there are people that are looking for ways to watch more sports content.
“We’re honestly looking for a sports subscription currently so we’re not sure where to go towards,” Essex resident said Georgia Klinck said.
“I’m an Eagles fan so it’s really hard to find a place to watch the games and stuff up here back home I just go to somebody’s house across the street and be like ‘we want to watch the game’ – can’t do that,” Essex resident Jordan Bowers said.
St. Michael’s College Assistant Professor of Digital Media and Communications Sebastiaan Gorissen says there are a variety of features on this new app.
“This flagship ESPN streaming service is supposed to have the suite of ESPN channels as well as much more personalization, customization and features like shopping and most importantly I think integrated betting fantasy,” Gorissen said.
Gorissen predicts this could be good for sports lovers.
“And I think that a streaming bundle like this, offering such a wide range of sporting events direct to consumers in a single package may well be enticing for those families,” he said.
There are some people that are getting tired of multiple streaming services — but Gorissen says its the nature of the streaming wars and isn’t going away anytime soon.
“I believe that in many ways this is a defensive move. In the contemporary streaming landscape companies like Netflix and Amazon and apple are all showing increasing interest in sports properties,” he said.
And he says cable might slowly fade away.
“This may well be just a first step in a new phase of how we as Americans watch our sports because this streaming war has led to an ever-expanding offering new subscription service,” Gorissen said.
The price and name of the streaming service have not been announced yet but it’s expected to launch in the fall.