Earlier this year, Disney announced it was teaming up with Warner Brothers Discovery and FOX to launch a brand new streaming sports service called “Venu Sports.” The service is 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 announced that the new streaming service would be priced at $42.99 a month and would be available in a bundle with Disney+ and Max. 

Originally, Venu Sports was scheduled to launch in the United States this Fall, but shortly after the platform was announced, Fubo TV took the three companies to court to get an injunction to stop the launch the “Venu Sports” due to anti-trust issues, as between Venu Sports would have controlled roughly 60%-80% of live broadcast sports content. 

In August, Fubo TV successfully obtained a temporary injunction to delay the launch of Venu Sports, as it felt that if it launched as planned, it would destroy their business, and they would run out of money by 2025.

This week, the case has been back in court, and the anti-trust suit will go to trial from 6th October 2025. Disney, FOX, and Warner Brothers Discovery had tried to push back the trial until February 2026 but were unable to convince the judge why that extra time was needed.

U.S. District Court Judge Margaret Garnett stated:

The Judge has also said that the deadlines won’t be extened and the trial is expected to last 3 to 4 weeks.  The appeal for the temporary injunction is set to take place later this year, but is probably unlikely to be overturned.

In addition to the court case, Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have been requesting that the Department of Justice investigate Venu Sports due to its share of the market, which could add even further legal issues for this streaming service to launch.

Disney is currently involved in a carriage dispute with DirecTV, resulting in Disney’s suite of channels like ABC, FX and ESPN, being blacked out, since neither company can agree on a deal moving forward.  As part of the new contract, Disney wanted DirecTV to agree not to be involved in the Fubo TV court case.

Fubo has stated that the studios have been engaging in anti-competitive practices, such as forcing Fubo to carry dozens of non-sports channels, which DirecTV is also stating Disney wants to do with its bundles.

The three companies have stated that they have lost “tens of millions of dollars” of investment in Venu Sports, which has resulted in dozens of employees who were hired to work for Venu Sports currently being left in limbo. with Pete Distad, Venu’s CEO, stating:

“We had anticipated that Venu would launch at the beginning of the NFL and college football season (in late August or early September).  The Preliminary Injunction has shattered those expectations and placed our new platform in limbo, as we are prevented from bringing to market this exciting new product, and the injunction directly threatens our future employment. Each month going forward, the JV (Venu joint venture) members will pay millions of dollars in employee payroll for the Venu team, as well as millions more in contractual, infrastructure, and other costs.”

Disney is also set to launch a new direct-to-consumer version of ESPN, which will include everything from ESPN+ and the sports from linear channels.   This new streaming version of ESPN will also be available within Disney+ when it launches in August 2025.

Roger’s Take:  With the initial launch of Venu Sports, Disney did state that the formation and launch of Venu Sport were subject to regulatory approval and the finalization of definitive agreements amongst the parties.   All three companies have stated they each intend to invest $400 million in the service, but with all of these complications, I personally wouldn’t be surprised if Venu Sports doesn’t go ahead, with Warner Brothers Discovery losing its NBA rights and none of the companies are going to want details of their carriage negotiations going into the public.  

But even if they pull the plug on Venu Sports, the cable industry is unlikely to completely back down as they are fighting for survival and no longer feel a forced bundle is competitive, as more people are cord-cutting, leaving for the studios own streaming services, effectively, cutting out the middle man!   It’s very unlikely Venu Sports will be launching anytime soon, if at all.  The big question is going to be if one of the three studios pulls out, the entire thing may fall like a pack of cards.

Do you think Venu Sports will still go to court in a year’s time?  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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