new Hulu streaming service

Video website Hulu on Tuesday announced deals to add programming from Twenty-first Century Fox and Walt Disney Co to a streaming TV service that it plans to offer in early 2017.

Disney and Fox, as well as Comcast Corp and Time Warner Inc, own stakes in Hulu.

Hulu's live and on-demand streaming video service will include Fox's entertainment, news, sports and non-fiction content, along with video from Disney's channels including ABC and ESPN, it said in a statement.

Time Warner said in August that it would pay $583 million to buy a 10 percent stake in Hulu and that its Turner networks, including TBS, Cartoon Network and Turner Classic Movies, would be available on the new service.

"With these two new deals in place, and additional partners to come, Hulu will soon give TV fans of all ages live and on-demand access to their favorite programs in a whole new, more flexible, highly personalized way," Hulu Chief Executive Officer Mike Hopkins said in the company's statement.

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The new live TV streaming service, which will cost about $40 a month, resembles a (not so) skinny bundle. It offers consumers an alternative to cable with no set-up or installation and is seen by Hulu as a complement to its current ad-supported and ad-free subscription models.

Live TV, particularly sporting events, seems to be one of the most common reasons people stick with cable, which makes Hulu’s announcement–specifically its implications for ESPN and Fox Sports–all the more compelling to potential subscribers (and more expensive for Hulu).

Fox and Disney each own about 30% of Hulu, which partly explains the deal, as they are betting on the future of the platform, rather than traditional cable.

And for Hulu, these additions provide ammunition against competitors Netflix and Amazon, which may boast more original content, but have not yet entered the live-streaming space–yet.

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Well, don't both Sling and Playstation Vue already offer ESPN and Fox sports?  This doesn't sound that much different.