The synergies between a Disney-owned Fubo and the Worldwide Leader in sports are about to become more apparent.

Fubo, the virtual pay-TV provider recently acquired by Disney, is expected to roll out an option to purchase its sports-focused skinny bundle through ESPN platforms in 2027, the company announced in a press release ahead of its quarterly earnings call on Wednesday. The initiative will allow users to purchase Fubo Sports, the provider’s slimmed-down bundle of sports channels, directly through ESPN platforms. Additionally, features such as ESPN.com’s “Where to Watch” pages will soon link directly to Fubo.

Fubo Sports is one of many sports-focused skinny bundles to have hit the market in recent years. At a monthly price of $56, Fubo Sports is more affordable than other sports skinny bundles, but does not include numerous networks that most sports fans would deem essential. Currently, Fubo Sports does not carry any of the TNT Sports networks, the Versant networks, NBC, or NBCSN.

A Fubo Sports subscription does, however, include access to ESPN Unlimited, the premium tier of ESPN’s new direct-to-consumer offering, which is required to watch exclusive content such as WWE Premium Live Events, certain Grand Slam tennis matches, and various studio programming.

The plans to offer Fubo Sports for purchase on ESPN platforms are being characterized as a “reseller and marketing arrangement” between the two entities. Presumably, this offering will not see Fubo Sports fully integrated within the ESPN app.

While Disney now owns a 70% stake in Fubo, the Fubo management team remains responsible for operating the company under the terms of the merger agreement. Disney formally combined Fubo’s operations with its other virtual pay-TV operator, Hulu + Live TV, shortly after the merger closed, though both are still available as standalone products.

Fubo has long positioned itself as a solution for sports fans who have left the traditional cable or satellite bundle. However, it is operating in an increasingly crowded space, with nearly every prominent distributor — both legacy cable and satellite distributors and virtual newcomers — having launched its own sports-focused offerings. And with a sports bundle that can generously be characterized as incomplete, Fubo will be heavily reliant on Disney to help the platform secure carriage of key networks in future distribution negotiations.

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Arda Öcal is out at ESPN.

The broadcaster announced Wednesday morning on social media that he had been let go from the network after a decade on staff. “I got let go from ESPN this morning,” Öcal wrote. “It’s all good, I’ll be fine. 10 years is a decent run.”

I got let go from ESPN this morning. It’s all good, I’ll be fine. 10 years is a decent run. I think I’m just gonna take some time off before I decide what’s next. Good vibes and acts of kindness.

— ᴀʀᴅᴀ Öᴄᴀʟ (@Arda) May 6, 2026

Öcal had been one of ESPN’s more versatile on-air presences across the network’s platforms. He was best known for his NHL work, hosting The Drop — a live digital pregame show that launched in 2021 on ESPN’s app and social platforms ahead of marquee broadcasts — and serving as studio host for In the Crease, the network’s postgame NHL show on ESPN+. He was a regular on ESPN’s Stanley Cup Playoff studio coverage, working alongside Steve Levy, Mark Messier, and P.K. Subban.

Beyond hockey, Öcal contributed across SportsCenter, SportsNation, and The Ocho — ESPN’s annual alternate programming event — and was one of the network’s faces in its Fortnite “Football Island” collaboration in October 2024. He also narrated the NHL’s Backstory podcast series, including the debut episode on the origins of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.

His departure comes as ESPN continues to shed talent across its platforms. Clinton Yates was let go in late March after his radio show and Andscape writing role were both ended as part of programming changes, and Xavier Scruggs departed around the same time after five years as an MLB analyst. Öcal’s exit comes as the sport he covered most closely at ESPN is having its best viewership run in years. Regular season viewership is up 23% to a 14-year high, and first-round playoff viewership jumped nearly 70% year-over-year.

He plans to take some time before deciding what comes next.

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ESPN has dropped its latest NFL power rankings, which has the Cleveland Browns moving on up thanks to two rookies they selected in the 2026 NFL Draft.

The Cleveland Browns will hold their rookie minicamp in a couple of days and it shows how quickly the offseason is flying by. Cleveland just finished up the 2026 NFL Draft where they selected 10 rookies, and it looks to be another strong draft class. 

Cleveland has to hit on this draft class if they want to take a step forward in the future from just eight wins the past two seasons. Much of the success the Browns can claim in 2026 will ride on what they get from the quarterback position. Cleveland did a good job of better setting up their starter, whoever it may be. 

Browns move up in ESPN's NFL power rankings following the draft 

The feeling is that it will be either Deshaun Watson or Shedeur Sanders starting for the Browns in 2026. Cleveland hopes to improve on its 5-12 record last season with Todd Monken's first year as a head coach ahead.

ESPN has dropped its offseason power rankings following the draft, and the Browns check in at the No. 30 spot. Cleveland was at the No. 32 spot in ESPN's way-too-early ranking, so they're up two spots. 

Cleveland had to upgrade their wide receiver room from last season. Entering the season with Jerry Jeudy and Cedric Tillman's top two players at the position could not happen. Concepcion's ability to create after the catch alone should be a boost for a Browns offense that lacked explosive plays last year. 

The Browns adding a big-framed wideout with 6-foot-4 Denzel Boston was key. Boston is going to have the ability to not only win downfield, but be a red zone target for Cleveland. For an offense already offering TE Harold Fannin Jr. as a real matchup problem, it's an intriguing possibility of what Boston can add.   

Cleveland has the ability to be better than the third-worst team in the NFL in 2026. Their schedule is favorable, they have the makings of an elite defense, and their offense should be improved. As mentioned, much of it is going to depend on what's happening at quarterback. 

Former ESPN and Fox host Marcellus Wiley responded to the latest sexual assault allegations against him by four new accusers.

The new allegations were filed in court last month, joining three existing claims of sexual assault against Wiley. The first accuser came forward in 2023, alleging Wiley raped them in 1994 while he was a football player at Columbia University in 1994. Wiley previously called those claims “B.S.,” and his lawyer similarly denied the allegations in a 2024 court filing.

Rolling Stone was first to report the latest accusations filed against Wiley last week. In the new filings, one claim was made by an ESPN production assistant, who alleged Wiley assaulted them in his hotel room while the two were coworkers in 2009. Another accuser in the new filings claimed Wiley raped her on her 18th birthday in Dallas while he was a member of the Cowboys, alleging he had been grooming her since she was 13.

Tuesday morning, Wiley went live on his YouTube channel for his regular show, which generally addresses the more salacious topics and headlines in sports. And Wiley included the allegations against him in the rundown. While Wiley didn’t address any specific allegation against him, he claimed to have evidence that would disprove his accusers.

“Pick a date, pick the encounter, pick the allegation,” Wiley said. “For every one of them, I either saw, communicated through email, text, phone, was invited by these individuals after these dates to engage, to be intimate, or all of the above. After the dates that are in question. It directly contradicts the narrative that they’re trying to present publicly.”

“I got one straightforward question for all the accusers,” Wiley continued. “Why did you continue to see or maintain friendly communication at a minimum, that can be verified, will be verified, with someone that you’re accusing after the alleged incidents?”

Wiley did not provide any records, receipts, or direct evidence during his show, but said there are tons of details he’s refraining from addressing at this time, citing “the burden is not on me to prove innocence…it is on them who are making these accusations to prove their claims are credible, prove their claims are truthful, prove that they’re supported by evidence.”

Wiley insisted he’s going to fight the allegations, noting there are no criminal charges, and claimed his accusers are using him to get to the deep pockets of ESPN and Columbia University. And because the former ESPN host and Columbia football player is not the only party named in the filings, Wiley was careful with how much information he shared. But according to Wiley, he will fight the allegations because of his son, who shares his name.

“To you, it’s about money,” Wiley said. “To me, it’s about my son’s name that he will one day Google and think this is about him, but he’s gonna know it’s about his dad. And how dare you stain the brain of my child and his hero?”

Wiley has not worked in mainstream media since leaving Fox Sports in 2022, but he has built a following on YouTube with over 500,000 subscribers to his channel. And Wiley said he will continue to do his YouTube show amid these latest court filings, just as he has since being hit with the first round of sexual assault allegations a few years ago.

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NFL Network has been dark on Comcast’s Xfinity cable systems for five days as the cable provider negotiates a fresh carriage agreement with Disney, the new owner of NFL Network.

It appears there are two primary holdups stalling negotiations, according to a new report by Austin Karp in Sports Business Journal. First, Comcast wants assurances that the NFL Network will continue to carry seven exclusive NFL games throughout the entirety of its new carriage deal. And second, Disney is seeking to return NFL Network to a more basic tier of Xfinity offerings. NFL Network has been moved to higher, more expensive packages on Xfinity in recent years.

As for the first issue, NFL Network has long guaranteed distributors like Comcast that it would carry at least seven exclusive NFL games each season. These games drive much of the value for the network when negotiating deals with distributors; without the seven-game package, NFL Network would simply be a supplemental channel filled with ancillary NFL programming rather than a must-have network with exclusive games during key portions of the NFL season.

Assurances that the network would fulfill its seven-game minimum were never much of an issue under league ownership. But under Disney ownership, it’s possible these NFL Network games could shift to other Disney-owned networks like ESPN or ABC in the future.

This won’t be an issue next season, per Karp, who reports NFL Network will be allocated a seven-game slate as normal. However, Disney has not given Comcast “a guarantee that NFL Network would continue to have a slate of seven exclusive games into the future of any longer-term carriage deal.”

The second issue, tiering, has been a common refrain in sports-focused carriage disputes recently. Comcast would like to keep NFL Network in the higher tier, where it can pay fewer per-subscriber fees to Disney and avoid passing the channel’s costs onto consumers that may not watch the network. Disney, on the other hand, likely sees NFL Network as on-par with channels like ESPN or ESPN2, both of which are included in more basic tiers, and believes it should be compensated as such.

Karp cites sources suggesting the cyclical nature of NFL Network content, particularly the fact that there is little worthwhile programming between the NFL Draft and the start of the season in September, as reason the channel should remain on the higher tier with other specialty sports channels.

That very programming gap gives Comcast quite a bit of leverage in this negotiation. The company can reasonably hold out for a few months without its customers missing any important NFL Network programming, all the while Comcast doesn’t have to pay for NFL Network during the least-important months on the football calendar. Of course, there’s no guarantee Comcast could get a better deal from Disney in August than it can right now. In fact, the opposite is likely true.

Regardless, these negotiations could well determine the future of the exclusive seven-game slate on NFL Network, which itself is important to how all NFL fans, not just Comcast customers, will consume games in the coming years.

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