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    Turner is latest to plan sports streaming service

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    Napoli's Jorginho celebrates after scoring during a Champions League playoff round, first leg soccer match between Napoli and Nice at San Paolo stadium in Naples, Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2017. (Cesare Abbate/ANSA Via AP)

    By Tali Arbel, Technology Writer

    NEW YORK (AP) --

    Turner Sports is the latest TV company to announce a sports streaming service as traditional television companies chase millennial audiences.

    The service, expected next year in the U.S., has signed up European soccer with the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. Higher-profile sports on Turner's TV channels, such as baseball and basketball, won't move to the new service. Instead, Turner is looking for new deals with content owners and leagues.

    Live sports get TV's biggest ratings and have helped keep customers hooked on the $100-and-up cable bundle. But it's getting easier to find sports online.

    Major sports channels come with cheaper, slimmer web versions of the bundle, like Sling and YouTube TV . Amazon, Twitter and Facebook are experimenting with televising games. A sports-focused streaming service, Fubo, has been around for a few years. And CBS and ESPN are planning to launch sports streaming sites.

    ESPN, CBS and Turner are all hoping to lure sports fans with the new services while protecting the existing TV business, which relies on a big cable bundle.

    For that reason, Turner doesn't plan to replicate what's being shown on its TV channels, truTV, TNT and TBS. The new service won't get Turner's televised coverage of Major League Baseball, the March Madness men's college basketball tournament and National Basketball Association games, including the All-Star Game.

    Turner didn't announce a price for the upcoming service.

    The UEFA rights have been held in the U.S. by Fox Sports and are new for Turner for the 2018-19 season. The rights with Turner run for three years. Turner will air about 20 percent of the games on its TV channels, primarily truTV; the rest are for streaming.

    Turner Sports' owner, Time Warner Inc., is being acquired by telecom company AT&T for $85 billion.

    Tags:AT&TTime Warner Inc.Turner Sports



    DirecTV calls off acquisition of rival Dish, possibly ending a yearslong pursuit

    Friday, November 22, 2024
    Dish Network satellite dishes are shown at an apartment complex in Palo Alto, Calif., Feb. 23, 2011. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)

    DirecTV is calling off its planned acquisition of rival Dish after the offer was rejected by bond holders at that company.

    The deal was reliant on Dish bond holders agreeing to trade in the debt they held for debt in the new company, a swap that would have cost them about $1.6 billion, collectively.

    The retreat by DirecTV this week may end a years-long effort by the company to acquire both Dish and Sling after it announced the bid in September.

    DirecTV was looking to acquire Dish TV and Sling TV from its owner EchoStar in a debt exchange transaction that included a payment of $1, plus the assumption of approximately $9.8 billion in debt. The deal was contingent on several factors, including regulatory approvals and bondholders writing off debt related to Dish.

    "While we believed a combination of DirecTV and Dish would have benefited all stakeholders, we have terminated the transaction because the proposed exchange terms were necessary to protect DirecTV's balance sheet and our operational flexibility," DirecTV CEO Bill Morrow said in a statement.

    The prospect of a DirecTV-Dish combo has long been rumored, and reported talks resurfaced over the years. And the two almost merged more than two decades ago — but the Federal Communications Commission blocked the deal valued at the time at $18.5 billion deal, citing antitrust concerns.

    The pay-for-TV market has shifted significantly since. As more and more consumers tune into online streaming platforms, demand for more traditional satellite entertainment continues to shrink.

    DirecTV says that it will continue to invest in next-generation streaming platforms and offer new packaging options while integrating content from live TV alongside direct-to-consumer... Read More

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