Alas, it will not be called ‘Spulu.’ While many have speculated what the new sports streaming service joint venture between ESPN, FOX Sports and Warner Bros. Discovery would be called, new CEO Pete Distad made the official announcement in a release saying the new brand will be called ‘Venu Sports’ and will combine each companies’ portfolios of sports programming.

“We are excited to officially introduce Venu Sports, a brand that we feel captures the spirit of an all-new streaming home where sports fans outside of the traditional pay TV eco-system can experience an incredible collection of live sports, all in one place,” Distad said in a release. “As preparations for the platform continue to accelerate, we are singularly focused on delivering a best-in-class product for our target audience, built from the ground up using the latest technologies to engage and entertain discerning sports fans wanting one-stop access to live games.”

‘Venu Sports’ is scheduled to launch in the fall and will be available via a new app. Subscribers will also have the ability to bundle it with Disney+, Hulu or Max.

A new website, Venu. com has been created and says, “Welcome to the future home of sports streaming. Venu will bring the most sought-after live sports from the top leagues and teams, together in one place. All in a new app built from the ground up for sports fans.”

Netflix is continuing to penetrate in the sports documentary space, agreeing to work with Skydance Sports and NFL Films in association with Stardust Frames Productions on a new project. The venture will explore the career of Jerry Jones, owner, president and general manager of the Dallas Cowboys, and how he has transformed the franchise since purchasing the team in 1989.

Jones helped catapult the Cowboys into a championship organization, attaining three Super Bowl titles in four years during the 1990s. Throughout his time at the helm of the organization, he has made an indelible impact in the sports landscape and crafted the Cowboys into the most valuable NFL franchise. Forbes projects the Cowboys to be worth $9 billion with revenue of $1.14 billion and operating income of $504 million prior to the 2023 NFL season.

This 10-episode series will look at the Cowboys by revealing exclusive footage surrounding the team and interviews with Jones himself. Other key figures surrounding the organization are also a part of the documentary series, including Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, Deion Sanders and Emmitt Smith, along with head coaches Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer. Former U.S. President George W. Bush and Nike founder Phil Knight are featured among the interviewees outside of the organization in the project.

The series will be produced by Skydance Sports in association with NFL Films and Stardust Frames Productions. Executive producers on the project are David Ellison, Jesse Sisgold, Jon Weinbach, Ross Ketover, Ken Rodgers, Jessica Boddy, Keith Cossrow and John Skipper. Chapman Way and Maclain Way are also executive producers as well as the directors of the production. This follows the recent announcement of a Netflix documentary pertaining to the history of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, along with a boxing match between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul streaming live on the platform.

Launch dates for the projects have yet to be announced by Netflix, who made the announcement of the docuseries surrounding Jones and the Cowboys at its 2024 Upfront in New York City, during which it also revealed additional sports-related projects. The company will produce three docuseries in partnership with the International Olympic Committee pertaining to Olympic track athletes, U.S. gymnast Simone Biles and the U.S. men’s basketball team.

The docuseries regarding Olympic track athletes is titled Sprint and will premiere on July 1 featuring top sprinters including Shericka Jackson, Noah Lyles and Sha’Carri Richardson. Additionally, the docuseries on Biles, titled Simone Biles: Rising, will debut before the start of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 and consist of four 45-minute episodes. The basketball series will debut in early 2025 and contain six episodes, each of which will be 45 minutes in duration. Netflix also announced production of a Happy Gilmore sequel with Adam Sandler and a new basketball comedy sitcom Running Point featuring Kate Hudson, Scott MacArthur and Drew Tarver.

Dallas Cowboys linebacker and three-time Pro Bowl selection Micah Parsons has agreed to a multi-year contract extension with Bleacher Report, through which he will contribute to a variety of projects across sports and entertainment. The new deal has also made Parsons the president of B/R Gridiron and ensures that he will continue to host his show, The Edge with Micah Parsons, which returns for the NFL preseason in August.

Parsons is the first current professional athlete with a leadership title at a sports media company and will work to compile content strategy for the brand. Moreover, part of his role will include launching new shows and original content, along with designing merchandise for the 2.5 million cross-platform followers it has attained.

“Working with Bleacher Report on The Edge has given me the desire to want to share my view of the game even more,” Parsons said in a statement. “Being able to create something dynamic for fans alongside a content team like B/R Gridiron, is a chance for me to flex different muscles than the ones I’m using each week on the field, plus it will just be fun.”

Parsons recently served as an analyst on the B/R Gridiron Draft Night Show that had a 27% increase in viewership, marking the highest boost for any live stream on the Bleacher Report app. The defensive superstar first signed a deal with Bleacher Report in 2023 where he launched The Edge and recently completed its first season, which included guests such as C.J. Stroud, Jordan Love and Stephon Gilmore among others. B/R Gridiron content on social media has over 850 million cross-platform video views and 300 million cross-platform engagements over the last two years, frequently gaining the attention of top stars from around the league.

“As a dominant voice on and off the field, Micah is well positioned to lead B/R Gridiron,” Tyler Price, head of content for Bleacher Report, said in a statement. “We are excited to deepen his engagement with the B/R team and help grow his platform off the field in a different and unique way.”

Bleacher Report has and continues to work with a variety of athletes over the years on original content and programming, some of whom have included Mookie Betts, Von Miller and Travis Hunter. The digital media company was acquired by then-Turner Broadcasting System in August 2012 and is now embedded within the sports portfolio of Warner Bros. Discovery, creating content surrounding the TNT Sports portfolio and other sporting events worldwide.