This week has been a big week for the future of the new sports streaming service, “Venu Sports”, which was originally going to launch in the fall of 2024, before being delayed following a lawsuit from Fubo TV over anti-trust issues.

The new sports streaming service was initially announced as a joint venture by Disney’s ESPN, FOX and Warner Bros. Discovery.  The platform was set to bring together the collective companies’ portfolios of sports networks and ESPN+ – including content from all the major professional sports leagues and college sports.  It was also going to bundled with Disney+, Hulu or Max.

The formation and launch of the new service were subject to regulatory approval and the finalization of definitive agreements among the parties. 

Earlier this week, it was announced that Disney would be merging its Hulu + Live TV business into Fubo and that the lawsuit to stop the launch of Venu Sports was dropped, just ahead of when the case was set to go into the discovery stage following a failed attempt at removing the injunction to launch Venu Sports. 

However, other companies such as EchoStar and DirecTV still had issues with the launch of Venu Sports and they were also looking into alternative solutions to delay the launch of Venu Sports.

Today, Disney, FOX and Warner Brothers Discovery have announced that Venu Sports will be discontinued and that this was a collective decision by the three companies not to move forward with the contemplated joint venture effective immediately.  A joint statement about the cancellation of Venu Sports has been released:

“After careful consideration, we have collectively agreed to discontinue the Venu Sports joint venture and not launch the streaming service. In an ever-changing marketplace, we determined that it was best to meet the evolving demands of sports fans by focusing on existing products and distribution channels. We are proud of the work that has been done on Venu to date and grateful to the Venu staff, whom we will support through this transition period.”

Roger’s Take: I’m not surprised that Venu Sports has been discontinued and won’t be launching, since this project just seemed doomed from the moment it was announced.  With so much heat coming legally, there is a point to how many lawsuits the companies want to deal with and is it worth it.  With the announcement of Disney buying 70% of Fubo TV, it will allow Disney to merge its flagging cable alternative, Hulu + Live TV together with Fubo, to give an alternative, likely with a sports bundle of its own.  Also, with the impending launch of a new flagship version of ESPN later this year, I always felt the concept of Venu Sports felt like a last-ditch effort to get the last remaining cable customers locked in before the linear platforms eventually disappear.

What do you think of the cancellation of Venu Sports?  Let me know on social media!

Roger Palmer

Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom. Email: Roger@WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com Twitter: Twitter.com/RogPalmerUK Facebook: Facebook.com/rogpalmeruk

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