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YouTube TV is planning to launch a cheaper ‘skinny’ sports bundle following its battle with Disney

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YouTube TV will unveil new prices soon. But this time, it will be good news for sports fans.

YouTube is launching a set of cheaper, slimmed-down versions of its popular live TV service in 2026, which it’s calling “YouTube TV Plans,” the video giant announced on Wednesday. One of the new plans will be a sports bundle that provides access to ESPN Unlimited, FS1, and NBC Sports Network.

While YouTube TV isn’t yet revealing pricing for these 10 or so genre-specific packages, they’ll cost less than the Google-owned service’s typical rate, which is $83 a month.

“Our goal is to let you tailor your subscription with more options,” said Christian Oestlien, YouTube’s head of subscriptions, in a statement. “Whether you stick with our main YouTube TV plan with 100+ channels, focus on sports, combine sports and news, or select a plan centered on family or entertainment content, subscribers will be able to easily choose the plan that works best for them.”

YouTube TV secured the rights to form these so-called “skinny bundles” after hard-fought negotiations with Disney, Comcast’s NBC, and Fox. YouTube TV’s battle with Disney was especially intense, as it left subscribers without ESPN and ABC for 15 days.

Justin Connolly, YouTube’s global head of media and sports, said at a media event on Tuesday night that YouTube worked with its partners on “ingesting the entirety of the sports programming” in its service, so that YouTube TV can be a one-stop shop for sports fans. Besides aggregating live games, Connolly said YouTube is being fan-friendly by aiming to “meet the consumer where they are” on price.

YouTube TV’s price has steadily increased since it launched in 2017 at $35, though it’s also added more channels. Last December, YouTube TV’s monthly price rose by $10.

Other TV providers have launched sports-focused skinny bundles, with some tradeoffs.

Fubo’s $55.99 a month Sports + News bundle includes all of ESPN and Fox’s channels, plus CBS and the NFL Network, but it doesn’t have NBC or Warner Bros. Discovery’s networks like TNT or TruTV. It also doesn’t have the news networks CNN and MS Now (formerly MSNBC), though it has Fox News.

Sling TV’s Orange & Blue bundle goes for $60.99 and has ESPN, Fox with cable sidekick FS1, WBD’s channels like TNT and CNN, and the NFL Network. It also carries local channels like NBC and ABC in certain markets. But Sling doesn’t have a deal with CBS, plus its main bundle doesn’t include specialty sports networks like the SEC Network, the Big Ten Network, or NBA TV. Sling offers a Sports Extra add-on for $15 a month on its main plan, bringing the total to $76.

DirecTV’s MySports package costs $69.99 but is more comprehensive, with the full suites of ESPN, Fox, and WBD, plus all four major local broadcast networks: ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox (with possible exceptions in certain markets). It also carries the flagship networks for four major US sports: the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL.

Sports fans could complement those skinny bundles by buying a digital antenna or by using streaming services like Peacock or Paramount+ that give access to NBC and CBS, respectively.

ESPN also offers a subscription to its entire suite for $29.99 a month, or a bundle with competing streamer Fox One for $39.99 a month.

YouTube said its new sports plan will have ESPN’s full suite of programming plus sports channels from Fox and NBC, with the option to add on NFL Sunday Ticket and RedZone for more money. Otherwise, it’s unclear exactly which channels this bundle will have.

As YouTube TV’s sports bundle enters the market, sports fans have more choices than ever. The challenge for them now is finding the right plan.




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Sports Illustrated ex-publisher wants $200 million from Authentic Brands Group, saying it stole website and employees

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The former publisher of Sports Illustrated has filed a $200 million legal counterpunch against the magazine’s new publisher and the owner of its intellectual property.

In late 2023, the Arena Group lost the rights to publish SI, its best-known brand, after the 5-Hour Energy creator Manoj Bhargava took over Arena and missed a licensing payment to Authentic Brands Group. ABG awarded the publishing license to Minute Media and sued Bhargava for $49 million, accusing him of acting like a “gangster” in their negotiations.

On Friday, Bhargava and his company hit back — and they’re seeking $200 million for what they claim was a plot by ABG and Minute Media to string the Arena Group along while making copies of its websites and laying the groundwork to poach its employees and biggest spenders.

“ABG deceived Arena by promising to work with Arena in good faith to renegotiate Arena’s license so as to allow Arena to continue to operate Sports Illustrated,” the complaint says, adding, “Privately, ABG and Minute had been partnered for weeks, conspiring to steal Arena’s code and publisher relationships.”

The countersuit also took aim at CVC Capital Partners and BlackRock, investors in ABG, though they weren’t named as parties to the lawsuit. In the complaint and in a statement, Steve Janisse, a spokesman for Arena and Bhargava, said it was unethical for them to have assisted in what Arena and Bhargava characterized as ABG’s sham negotiations.

“It’s amazing that CVC Capital and BlackRock would condone this type of corporate behavior,” Janisse said. “To be honest, we’re surprised they aren’t calling for a change of leadership at ABG.” An executive at CVC didn’t immediately respond to emails, and a representative for BlackRock declined to comment.

Bhargava has a history of aggressive legal action. A 2012 Forbes profile noted that he had already filed more than 90 lawsuits. Bhargava, who made his billions selling 5-Hour Energy drinks, showed the Forbes reporter a “cemetery” bookcase in his office, lined with energy-shot bottles from competitors his company had sued or legally bullied out of the market, calling them the gravestones of his vanquished rivals.

Bhargava’s lawsuit adds to the morass of legal actions that have formed around the Arena Group. In early April, ABG sued Arena and Bhargava over the missed licensing payment and a $45 million termination fee.

Arena, whose stock trades for less than half of what it did at the start of 2024, included that $45 million fee in a loss of nearly $91 million that it recorded in connection with the loss of the SI brand last quarter.

Ross Levinsohn, the Arena CEO who was fired in 2023 when Bhargava took over, has also sued Arena, claiming he was retaliated against. Shortly thereafter, Levinsohn, who became the CEO of Arena in 2020, became the target of a lawsuit filed by Arena’s founders, who claim he mounted a “fraudulent coup” to enrich himself at the expense of Arena and other shareholders, according to Front Office Sports.

ABG and Minute Media didn’t immediately reply to requests for comment.


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