DirecTV launches its own skinny sports bundleDirecTV launches its own skinny sports bundle

Following the demise of Venu, DirecTV has introduced MySports, a skinny sports-focused package featuring 40 channels and ESPN+ (with more on the way) for the introductory price of $49.99 per month.

Jeff Baumgartner, Senior Editor

January 14, 2025

5 Min Read
NFL line of scrimmage Minnesota Vikings vs New Orleans Saints
(Source: Kirby Lee/Alamy Stock Photo)

Venu Sports is dead, but a new sports-focused streaming service from DirecTV has been born.

DirecTV has introduced MySports, a new, slimmed-down tier for the DirecTV Stream service that features a lineup of 40 national and local channels (including some live news channels). DirecTV said it plans to add ESPN+, a premium streaming subscription add-on that regularly sells for $11.99 per month or $119.99 per year, and other still-unnamed direct-to-consumer streaming services at no additional cost "in the near future" as it completes integrations.

DirecTV also intends to offer regional sports networks (RSNs) as an add-on later this year, a company official said in response to emailed questions.

MySports, a tier that is coming to life under the "beta" label, is being sold at a temporary introductory price of $49.99 per month ($20 off the regular price of $69.99 per month). Per the fine print, DirecTV's MySports promotion ends on February 28, 2025.

The price of MySports undercuts DirecTV Stream's other packages: Entertainment (90-plus channels for $74.99 per month); Choice (125-plus channels for $89.99 per month); Ultimate (160-plus channels for $129.99 per month); and Premier ($164.99 per month). DirecTV currently is offering $10 discounts over 24 months for its Choice, Ultimate and Premier tiers.

Related:Venu gets killed, but something else will take its place

Given that price differential, DirecTV does run the risk of some customers downgrading their current level of service for MySports. But the new sports-focused option could prevent those legacy customers from defecting to a different pay-TV service.

MySports limited to DirecTV Stream... for now

MySports, a contract-free offering, is currently limited to DirecTV Stream, an Internet-delivered pay-TV service. The current MySports FAQ notes only that MySports is unavailable to DirecTV satellite subs "at this time."

"We have plans to make it available to our broader customer base in the future to provide even greater flexibility and choice," a DirecTV official said in response to emailed questions.

As the beta label suggests, the reach of MySports is a work in progress. Access to the new tier is initially limited to 24 major metro regions, with New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia and San Francisco receiving their local ABC, Fox and NBC stations (but currently no CBS). Customers in markets such as Atlanta, Austin, New Haven, San Diego, Miami, Boston, Houston, Dallas and Washington, DC, can sign up for MySports today and receive local stations as affiliates opt-in.

MySports also integrates DirecTV's lineup of ad-supported sports channels, including ACC Digital Network, Big 12, Fight Network, Fuel TV, Origin Sports, Pickleball TV, Players TV, Sports Grid, Stadium Stream, Surfer TV, Swerve Combat, T2, The Jim Rome Show, TNA, Torque by History, Waypoint TV and Women's Sports Network.

Related:Fubo and Disney settle Venu litigation amid deal to combine Fubo and Hulu + Live TV

Rethinking the pay-TV bundle

National networks offered immediately via the MySports package in the aforementioned select markets include ACC Network, Big Ten Network, DirecTV 4K Live, DirecTV 4K Live 2, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNews, ESPNU, Fox Sports 1, Fox Sports 2, Golf Channel, MLB Network, NBA TV, NFL Network, NHL Network, SEC Network, TBS, TNT, TruTV and USA Network. CBS currently is not part of the MySports local station lineup, but DirecTV noted that additional stations will be "coming online soon."

DirecTV said it intends to introduce additional "genre-specific" pay-TV packaging options in the first half of the year but did not elaborate on what's to come. The operator noted that nearly 80% of its video subs watch fewer than 30 channels across their programming lineup, and that about the same percentage of its customers desire more flexibility and choice in paying for the type of content they want to watch.

DirecTV's beta launch of MySports and its plans for other genre-based programming tiers arrives as pay-TV distributors seek out ways to better segment their packages based on what consumers want and what they are willing to pay for.

Related:DirecTV and EchoStar slam Disney-Fubo deal

This lack of flexibility paired with rising programming costs has contributed to subscriber losses for traditional pay-TV distributors in recent years. The US pay-TV industry shed about 305,000 subs in Q3 2024, contributing to a cumulative loss of 4.3 million subscribers in the first nine months of 2024, according to MoffettNathanson's latest "Cord-Cutting Monitor."

Streaming is DirecTV's main sub driver

DirecTV is private and does not release subscriber numbers on a regular basis, but it reportedly had about 10 million subscribers (satellite, IPTV and streaming combined) when it was attempting to merge with Dish Network (that deal was scrapped in November 2024).  

DirecTV's traditional pay-TV business (satellite and the former AT&T U-verse TV service) is shrinking at an annual rate of 18.4%, but DirecTV's Internet delivered offerings added 28,000 subs in Q3 2024, MoffettNathanson estimates. DirecTV confirmed the majority of its new subs are streaming customers.

"The introduction of MySports from DIRECTV delivers consumers greater choice, flexibility, and control to select the type of content they want to watch at the right value," DirecTV CEO Bill Morrow said in a statement.

Big focus on skinny sports packages

Sports-oriented streaming packages have been a hot item of late. Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) took a shot at the idea with Venu Sports, a sports streaming joint venture that envisioned a package of more than a dozen channels, including ABC and ESPN, and ESPN+ starting at $42.99 per month. Venu was scuttled last week amid an expectation that DirecTV and EchoStar/Dish planned to apply legal pressure on the JV on antitrust grounds.

Meanwhile, Disney and Fubo have struck a deal to merge Hulu + Live TV with Fubo. That deal, which settled litigation between Fubo and Disney, also lays the groundwork for Fubo to develop a new Sports & Broadcasting package that will feature Disney and Fox networks (including ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN and ESPNews), as well as ESPN+.

DirecTV, which made its issues with the Venu JV well known, has been in talks about developing MySports for some time. "DirecTV has been aggressive in its discussion with multiple programmers over the past several months to secure the rights necessary to bring MySports to market as quickly as possible, and timing aligns well with offering the service in time for college football and NFL playoffs," a DirecTV official said.

About the Author

Jeff Baumgartner

Senior Editor, Light Reading

Jeff Baumgartner is a Senior Editor for Light Reading and is responsible for the day-to-day news coverage and analysis of the cable and video sectors. Follow him on X and LinkedIn.

Baumgartner also served as Site Editor for Light Reading Cable from 2007-2013. In between his two stints at Light Reading, he led tech coverage for Multichannel News and was a regular contributor to Broadcasting + Cable. Baumgartner was named to the 2018 class of the Cable TV Pioneers.

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