FuboTV, the upstart US sports-focused internet TV service, has scored a major legal win over the upcoming Venu Sports joint venture after winning a preliminary injunction against the OTT streamer that delays, if not cancels, its launch.
Venu Sports, a joint venture formed to house the collective sports rights of the Fox Corp, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), and Disney media giants, was slated for launch later in 2024 but that will now be prospectively pushed back to 2025 at the earliest, if it is not canceled altogether, after being blocked by Judge Margaret Garnett of the New York Southern District Court.
Garnett upheld Fubo’s claims that the joint venture, which would house over 50% of all US sports rights on one service, would lessen competition, limit consumer choice, enable price gouging, and impinge on the ability of Venu’s rivals to do business in a competitive fashion.
It is unclear what Venu’s plans are moving forward, although a WBD representative did claim in court that the injunction would “terminate” the joint venture altogether.
Regardless, Fubo will continue to move forward with its lawsuit against WBD, Disney, and Fox for antitrust practices based not just on the formation of Venu but also on what it claims were prior attempts by the trio to hamper Fubo’s business model.
A date for the trial to proceed has yet to be announced.
Speaking on the success of the injunction, Fubo co-founder and chief executive David Gandler stated: “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.
“The proposed joint venture was only the latest example of anti-competitive 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.”
Fubo filed its lawsuit against the three joint venture partners in February 2024, seeking the blocking of Venu Sports, restrictions on the trio such as economic parity of licensing terms, and “substantial monetary damages”.
The FuboTV suit has accused the media giants of leveraging their “iron grip on sports content to extract billions of dollars in supra-competitive profits,” leading consumers to pay more for popular sports content.
Fubo also cited the media companies charging Fubo content licensing rates that are as much as 50% higher than rates they charge other distributors as behavior that may violate antitrust laws.
Since the launch of the suit, a Fubo-led group of media enterprises that also includes the likes of TV carrier DirecTV and cable network Newsmax, published an open letter to several prominent US politicians lobbying them to investigate pay-TV competition with a focus on Venu Sports.
However, even before Fubo’s lawsuit, it was reported that the US Department of Justice was set to investigate Venu Sports (before the Venu moniker had even been applied), such is the scale of disruption it would potentially cause to the pay-TV sports sector.
Meanwhile, Fubo has announced it will launch on the Amazon Prime Video Channels in Canada.
This marks the first time the sports network is available in Canada outside of a subscription to Fubo’s platform.
Subscribers to the Fubo Sports Network on Prime Video will have access to a range of live sports including English soccer's Premier League.
Additional sports content will include Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, the Professional Fighters League, and the World Poker Tour.
