Earlier this year, Disney announced it was teaming up with FOX and Warner Brothers Discovery to launch a brand new sports streaming service called Venu Sports, which bring together the collective companies’ portfolios of sports networks and ESPN+ – including content from all the major professional sports leagues and college sports.

The new sports streaming services is set to cost $42.99 per month and will also be available in a bundle with Disney+, Hulu and Max.

Venu Sports was initially scheduled to launch in the fall of 2024, but earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett issued a preliminary injunction against its launch following a court case brought forward by Fubo TV, which said the new platform was uncompetitive and violated anti-trust laws.

Last week, Disney, along with FOX and Warner Brothers Discovery, put in an appeal for the temporary injection, and this past Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Margaret Garnett issued an order for a pretrial conference, which will be held on September 12th 2024 in New York, to discuss the defendants’ pending motion to dismiss the suit, along with outlining more details of discovery that have yet to be completed; and to likely set the jury trial date, which is expected to begin by February 2025.

The lawyers of the joint venture have stated that the delay to the launch of Venu Sports has resulted in them “losing tens of millions of dollars that they have invested in a start-up business that has been blocked from coming to market, dozens of employees who were hired to work for Venu are left in limbo, and consumers are denied access to the innovative new product that Venu would have provided and the increased competition that would result from a new product offering”.

So far, the three companies have spent $74 million on the joint venture, though they’ve each stated they plan to invest around $400 million each on Venu Sports. 

Roger’s Take: Should this not go to trial until February, it means they’ve completely lost the opportunity to run for this year’s football season. If it did go to court, with them winning, it would mean Disney would be trying to launch both Venu Sports and its new “Flagship” direct-to-consumer version of ESPN at the same time, which wouldn’t be ideal, though if it all went their way, it might be ready for the NBA season. 

There are additional issues for Disney, as further discovery of more legal documents could open up the studios to more scrutiny of how the bundle system works and could open them up for further legal battles with cable and television providers, who will also want to offer smaller a-la-carte bundles, which might help keep more people subscribed to cable services, or alternatively, could do the exact opposite and force the studios to embrace streaming even faster.

Ever since the joint venture was announced, they stated that the formation and launch of the new service is subject to regulatory approval and the finalization of definitive agreements among the parties.   Could one of them pull out before the trial if they don’t think they will win? 

Do you think Venu Sports will actually launch?  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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