Hulu’s live TV stream will deliver ESPN, Disney and Fox

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The new Hulu will launch next year.
The new Hulu will launch next year.

Hulu scored two new partnerships for its upcoming streaming TV service that it plans to use to help cable subscribers finally cut the cord.

Both Disney and 21st Century Fox have agreed to be part of Hulu’s skinny bundle that will allow customers to stream live TV from at least two of the top networks in the US for a monthly fee.


[contextly_auto_sidebar] Hulu hasn’t revealed how much its skinny bundle will cost, but today it revealed sports fans and kids will find channels they like thanks to the Disney and Fox deals. The agreement will bring more than 35 channels to the service.

Cutting the cord

Competition in the TV streaming space is starting to heat up. AT&T’s DirecTV Now service is set to launch this month with over 100 channels and a $30 price tag. Sling TV has been the most popular streaming service since it debuted last year. Sony’s Playstation Vue service has also been competing for subscribers.

The new deal with Disney and Fox will bring a ton of sports channels, including Fox Sports networks BTN, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNU, ESPN-SEC, and Fox’s regional sports networks. Disney Channel, Fox News, Fox Business, FX, FXX, National Geographic and Nat Geo Wild will also be part of the package.

Apple was rumored to be working on its own streaming TV service to pair with Apple TV for year. Negotiations with content companies and networks reportedly fell through though. Instead of trying to compete with Hulu, Sling TV and DirecTV Now, Apple announced a new TV app last week that puts users’ content all in one spot.

Comcast owns a part of Hulu, but the company has not yet signed an agreement to add its channels to the service. NBCUniversal, USA, Bravo and E would be included in such a deal that will likely be struck later this year or in early 2017.

Hulu CEO Mike Hopkins promised more partners will come, though the company still doesn’t have a specific launch date set for the service.

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