Venu Sports, the joint streaming venture planned by The Walt Disney Company, FOX Corporation and Warner Bros. Discovery, has been shut down by the three media conglomerates and will not launch. The proposed virtual multichannel video programming distributor (vMVPD) is not moving forward, effective immediately, despite Fubo dropping its lawsuit concurrent with an agreement to merge with Hulu + Live TV.
“After careful consideration, we have collectively agreed to discontinue the Venu Sports joint venture and not launch the streaming service,” ESPN, FOX and Warner Bros. Discovery said in a statement. “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.”
Fubo had communicated to the court last fall that it would have lost money by the fiscal first quarter and result in insolvency had Venu Sports launched. The streaming company also argued that Disney, FOX and Warner Bros. Discovery would be bundling 60-80% of live sports streaming rights in the United States. Venu Sports was not permitted to launch under a preliminary injunction, and trials surrounding the matter were set to commence in October.
With Fubo ceasing its legal action, DirecTV decided to challenge the dismissal on Thursday, articulating in a letter to the court that the transaction does not resolve antitrust issues surrounding the venture. Moreover, EchoStar-owned Dish penned a letter that conveyed the settlement and merger took place to “eliminate court jurisdiction” and did not address issues of competition. TNT Sports content is currently available through the Bleacher Report-branded add-on through Max, and ESPN is slated to launch its Flagship direct-to-consumer streaming service later this year. It remains unknown if FOX Sports will look to introduce a DTC platform for its sports content.
Venu Sports was originally slated to launch last August for $42.99 per month, and the company had announced a leadership team headed by chief executive officer Pete Distad. In addition to the leadership team, over 150 engineers and executives were working to build out a product that would combine linear television networks owned by the media conglomerates for users to view without a cable subscription. Disney, FOX and Warner Bros. Discovery had invested $400 million each into this joint streaming venture, according to testimony from FOX Corporation chief operating officer John Nallen.
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