In the battle between sports streaming platforms, Fubo just gave Venu reason to use even more four-letter words.
The U.S. District Court, Southern District Court of New York, granted Fubo’s request for a preliminary injunction against the launch of Walt Disney Company, Fox Corporation, and Warner Bros. Discovery’s Venu Sports joint venture. The decision comes just two weeks after Venu announced its $42.99 monthly subscription price and fewer than three weeks before the start of the National Football League (NFL) season.
“Today’s ruling is a victory not only for Fubo but also for consumers,” said David Gandler, Fubo’s co-founder and CEO. “This decision will help ensure that consumers have access to a more competitive marketplace with multiple sports streaming options.”
As the court’s opinion pointed out, Fubo was formed in 2015 to address sports fans’ growing demand for streaming content. It entered into carriage agreements with television networks for the rights to license and distribute those networks’ programming.
The issue is that, together, Disney, Fox, and WBD control about 54% of all U.S. sports rights and at least 60% of all nationally broadcast U.S. sports rights. When it comes to the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and college football, Venu partners are closer to 75% of the market, including 98% of professional baseball, hockey, football, and basketball playoff games.
Fubo’s claim that the Venu partners have granted Venu exclusive rights to all “unbundled” sports programming (sports channels not bundled with those companies’ entertainment channels, as in cable or satellite packages) posits that Venu would crush sports streaming competition and hike prices. The court’s opinion agreed, but ESPN did not.
“We respectfully disagree with the court’s ruling and are appealing it,” ESPN, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery said in a statement. “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.”
But legal sparring between Fubo and Venu doesn’t end with the injunction. Fubo is proceeding with an antitrust lawsuit against the Venu partners and their affiliates that it originally filed in February. It alleges that the media companies have been trying to block Fubo’s business for years at a cost to both Fubo and consumers.
