Hulu’s Live Streaming Service Will Have ABC, Disney, ESPN, FOX Included

Live streaming television is all the rage right now.

As Sling has proved, especially with their recent announcement that they’re already the sixth biggest streaming service by subscriber numbers, consumers are just begging television networks to go digital.

Hulu announced recently their intention to jump into live streaming, and fully intends to offer live streaming of sports as a part of this move.

But it has been several months since the service has said anything. However, The Verge is now reporting that Hulu is finalizing agreements to bring ABC, Disney, ESPN, FOX, CNN, TNT, and TBS to their live streaming services.

If the partnerships are similar to Sling, then it’s unlikely that consumers will get local broadcasts on networks such as ABC and FOX, but we will update this report if we learn otherwise.

Hulu’s initial price has been estimated to be around $30-40 for the live streaming subscription. We’re assuming this will also include access to their next-day services as well.

While Hulu currently offers on-demand next day television for networks like NBC and Comedy Central, there doesn’t appear to be any official word on either of these networks being available. However, if Sling’s partnerships are any indication, it does seem likely that perhaps these networks will join the offering as the deals finalize.

Now it will be interesting to watch the race between live streaming services. We spoke with Sling Chief Product Officer Ben Weinberger who seems less concerned with initial competition, and instead seems excited that this should bring more consumer awareness to live streaming. As Sling can attest, live streaming is tough, so it will be interesting to see if Hulu is able to quickly pivot their offerings and provide comparable service levels. Consumers will likely be less forgiving of buffering and down time now that live streaming is becoming more and more common.

The consumers definitely win here, however, as most people are certainly interested in live streaming TV.