Turner Broadcasting will launch its new live subscription-based sports streaming service under the Bleacher Report brand name next month.
The service, called Bleacher Report Live, will offer a free preview during its first few months in operation. Pricing for subscriptions will be announced this summer, the company said Tuesday.
Turner said last summer that it would offer an over-the-top streaming TV product as a platform for much of its coverage of UEFA Champions League soccer. Turner has the TV and streaming rights to those games through 2022.
Along with UEFA contests, Bleacher Report Live will also offer coverage of events from the new pro football outfit called the Spring League, the PGA Championship, NCAA championship events, the National Lacrosse League and the Red Bull Global Rallycross.
Bleacher Report Live will also provide discounted access to streamed National Basketball Association games offered by the league's NBA League Pass subscriber service.
Turner's launch comes ahead of ESPN Plus, an over-the-top subscription offering from the Walt Disney Co. unit set to debut this year that's aimed at younger consumers who are forgoing pay-TV subscriptions.
Media companies are investing in streaming services as a growing number of millennials turn to internet-connected devices for their video entertainment. According to Nielsen, 62 percent of U.S. households _ about 73 million _ use internet-connected televisions or streaming video devices. In those homes, streaming video consumed by people 25 to 34 accounts for 23 percent of TV usage.
The Bleacher Report website is already an established name for young consumers of sports information. Turner acquired the site in 2012.
