Sports streaming battle heats up as Disney adds ESPN to service in Australia
Australia’s major pay TV service Foxtel has moved to assure subscribers that key American sports content will remain available on its platforms following the latest blow in the country’s sports streaming brawl,Disney announced on Tuesday that ESPN’s slate of Australian and international sports programmes – including live local and US basketball and American football, as well as their continuous 24/7 channels – will soon be available on all Disney+ plans,The content has been available to Australians through delivery partners Fetch TV and Foxtel/Kayo, and concerned users posted on social media in the wake of the announcement fearing that they might soon lose access to ESPN,Foxtel issued a statement on Tuesday saying there would be no changes to their programming,“We enjoy a long-standing relationship with Disney/ESPN and expect this to continue,” a Foxtel Group spokesperson said.
“Only a day after the Super Bowl and on the eve of some great NBA action, we’re proud to confirm that we will continue to share ESPN content on Foxtel and Kayo.”Although ESPN will not be exclusive to Disney+, its addition to that service may convince some to reconsider their mix of streaming subscriptions.Disney’s Australian managing director and head of ESPN Asia-Pacific, Kylie Watson-Wheeler, described the offering as an “innovative game-changer” that would expand the appeal of the subscription service.“It further enriches our already strong and unique content offering, boosts value for subscribers, and serves sports fans anytime, anywhere,” she said.Foxtel remains the dominant subscription TV service in Australia with more than 4.
6m subscribers, of which Kayo has about a third.The industry is watching the service’s next moves, after a December announcement that it had been acquired by Saudi Arabia-backed Dazn.Despite the competition between streaming services in recent years, ESPN has maintained an unusual position in signing deals with multiple distributors.Disney chief executive Bob Iger said last week he wanted ESPN – which also sells advertising – to be as accessible as possible.Sign up to Australia SportGet a daily roundup of the latest sports news, features and comment from our Australian sports deskafter newsletter promotion“It’s pretty clear that young viewers, I guess you call them, or young consumers, are leaning more and more into streaming experiences, both fixed televisions on walls and mobile devices.
And the more ESPN can be present for a new generation of consumers with a product that serves them really well, the better off ESPN’s business is,” Iger said,ESPN debuted on Disney+ in Latin America in June 2024 and in the US in December,Upcoming live ESPN programming includes the NBA All-Star Weekend, the NBL finals, MLB opening day, the NBA playoffs and the NHL playoffs,ESPN also produces local shows such as Around The Wicket covering cricket, Nothing But Net: Aussie Hoops, and SportsCenter Australia,
Canada calls Trump metals tariffs ‘totally unjustified’ as Hong Kong to file complaint with WTO – business live
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy, as reaction to the latest US tariffs comes in.Donald Trump announced 25% tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum on Monday, ramping up his controversial bid to boost the US economy by hiking taxes on imports from overseas.The modified US duties will be enforced “without exceptions or exemptions”, the president declared, dashing the hopes of countries that hoped to avoid them.Asked about the possibility of other countries retaliating against US tariffs, Trump said: “I don’t mind.”Canada’s industry minister said the US tariffs were “totally unjustified”, with Canadian steel and aluminum supporting key US industries including defense, shipbuilding, energy and autos
BP chief defends profits plunge as board braces for investor turmoil
The chief executive of BP has defended its tumbling profits as the board braces for a campaign by an activist investor to overhaul the troubled oil company.Murray Auchincloss reported a sharp slump in BP’s annual profits to $8.9bn (£7.9bn) last year from almost $14bn in 2023, just days after it emerged that the activist hedge fund Elliott Investment Management has taken aim at the oil major by building a stake in the company.The New York-based investor is expected to use its grip on the company to demand sweeping changes to BP which could include ousting the BP chair Helge Lund and a boardroom cull, or a break-up of the 120-year-old company
AI chatbots distort and mislead when asked about current affairs, BBC finds
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Sports streaming battle heats up as Disney adds ESPN to service in Australia
Australia’s major pay TV service Foxtel has moved to assure subscribers that key American sports content will remain available on its platforms following the latest blow in the country’s sports streaming brawl.Disney announced on Tuesday that ESPN’s slate of Australian and international sports programmes – including live local and US basketball and American football, as well as their continuous 24/7 channels – will soon be available on all Disney+ plans.The content has been available to Australians through delivery partners Fetch TV and Foxtel/Kayo, and concerned users posted on social media in the wake of the announcement fearing that they might soon lose access to ESPN.Foxtel issued a statement on Tuesday saying there would be no changes to their programming.“We enjoy a long-standing relationship with Disney/ESPN and expect this to continue,” a Foxtel Group spokesperson said
Government officials ‘more pessimistic’ about financial health of rugby union
Government officials say they are increasingly pessimistic over the financial stability of professional rugby union, as they defended loans given to sports organisations during the pandemic.A National Audit Office (NAO) report published last year said that as much as £29m of a total £474m lent to sports organisations during the pandemic will not be recovered. Central among the defaulters are three rugby clubs – Worcester, Wasps and London Irish – who went into administration after being lent £41.6m in public money.Speaking in front of the Public Accounts Committee in parliament on Monday, the director general of policy at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), Polly Payne, said the government was now monitoring financial risks not only to clubs but the Premiership itself, and that concerns over financial viability had grown
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