Earlier this year, Disney announced that its sports division, ESPN, has teamed up with Fox and Warner Brothers Discovery to launch a brand new streaming service called “Venu Sports”, that is going to bring together the collective companies’ portfolios of sports networks and ESPN+ – including content from all the major professional sports leagues and college sports. The formation and launch of the new service are subject to regulatory approval and the finalization of definitive agreements among the parties.

Venu Sports will give access to linear sports networks, including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, ESPNEWS, ABC, FOX, FS1, FS2, BTN, TNT, TBS, truTV, as well as ESPN+.

The new streaming service is set to be launched as a new app and is going to be priced at $42.99 a month.   Subscribers are also going to have the ability to bundle Venu Sports with Disney+, Hulu and Max.

Originally, Venu Sports was scheduled to launch in the fall of 2024, in time for the launch of the new NFL season, depending on regulatory approval and the finalization of definitive agreements amongst the parties.

The issue of regulatory approval is a major issue for Venu Sports, as following the announcement of the creation of “Venu Sports”, Fubo TV took the three companies to court to put an injunction to stop the launch of Venu Sports, since they argued that the new platform would likely put them out of business, since the new service would undercut them and could likely see them lose 30% of their customers.

Fubo has stated that the three companies, Disney, Warner Brothers Discovery and Fox, control roughly 60%-80% of live broadcast sports content, according to its partners. Fubo presented evidence of the JV’s primary effect of limiting competition, removing consumer choice, and ultimately leading to steep price hikes for consumers and boosting profits for the partners. Fubo’s goal is to ensure a competitive sports streaming marketplace that offers consumers choice, affordable pricing, flexibility and innovation. Fubo believes that all distributors should have the opportunity to compete in a fair market. 

Also, well-known senators like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren are also looking to scrutinize the launch of Venu Sports, as they view it as anti-competitive.

The owners of Venu Sports have been in court all week, and today, the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York has agreed with Fubo TV and granted a temporary injunction.  As part of the court proceedings, satellite providers DirecTV and EchoStar’s Dish also took part to highlight how the launch of Venu Sports is anti-competitive.

David Gandler, co-founder and CEO, Fubo, said in a statement regarding the news:

“Today’s ruling is a victory not only for Fubo but also for consumers. This decision will help ensure that consumers have access to a more competitive marketplace with multiple sports streaming options.

“But our fight continues. Fubo has said all along that we seek equal treatment from these media giants, and a level playing field in our industry. The proposed joint venture was only the latest example of anticompetitive practices that The Walt Disney Company, FOX Corp. and Warner Bros. Discovery have consistently engaged in for many years. We believe these practices monopolize the market, stifle competition and cheat consumers from deserved choice.

“A fair and competitive marketplace is necessary to provide consumers with multiple, robust and more affordable sports streaming options. We will continue to fight for fairness and for what’s best for consumers.”

Warner Bros. Discovery, Fox and Disney’s ESPN also issued a joint statement stating:

“We respectfully disagree with the court’s ruling and are appealing it.  We believe that Fubo’s arguments are wrong on the facts and the law, and that Fubo has failed to prove it is legally entitled to a preliminary injunction. Venu Sports is a pro-competitive option that aims to enhance consumer choice by reaching a segment of viewers who currently are not served by existing subscription options.”

Meanwhile, U.S. Judge Margaret Garnett noted in the court papers that between the three companies, they control about 54% of all U.S. sports rights, and at least 60% of all nationally broadcast U.S. sports rights.

“There is significant evidence in the record that the true figures may be even larger.  This means that alone, Disney, Fox, and [Warner Bros. Discovery] are each significant players in live sports licensing, who otherwise compete against each other both to secure sports telecast rights and to attract viewers to their live sports programming. But together, they are dominant,”

A date has not yet been set for the main antitrust trial, so it’s unclear how long this process will take, but it’s very unlikely that this is going to be resolved anytime soon, especially before the start of the launch of the NFL/College football seasons.   Plus, they always stated that the launch of the product could be impacted by regulatory approval issues, so if the project is just going to be in limbo for months, maybe years, or that it seems unlikely to get through the government process, they might just cancel their plans.

Roger’s Take:  The launch of Venu Sports was always going to be difficult, and honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if this entire project is dropped, especially if one party decides to back out and with Warner Brothers Discovery losing access to the NBA, it might be enough of a reason not to continue.  Disney is planning on launching a full streaming alternative to ESPN next year, which will also be fully integrated into Disney+. it already has its own live TV platform, Hulu + Live TV.   I could easily see Venu Sports never launching, which Fubo TV might want, but eventually, their deals with these companies for their sports packages are going to come up for renewal and let’s say I doubt those will be “friendly” talks.

Do you think Venu Sports will 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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