The Walt Disney Company and FuboTV are reportedly close to finalizing a deal to merge their live TV streaming businesses, according to Bloomberg. Disney plans to integrate its Hulu + Live TV service into Fubo. The new venture will be majority-owned by Disney with a 70% stake, while Fubo will hold the remaining 30%.
The agreement does not involve Hulu’s on-demand subscription service, which allows users to stream a library of content at their convenience. Instead, the live TV operations will continue under the separate brands of Fubo and Hulu + Live TV, one of the sources noted. The combined services are expected to create the second-largest digital pay-TV provider in the U.S., boasting approximately six million subscribers. This would place the new entity behind only YouTube TV in terms of market share.
As part of the arrangement, Fubo will drop its legal claims against Disney, Fox Corporation, and Warner Bros. Discovery concerning Venu Sports, a streaming platform being developed through a joint venture among the three companies. This move clears the way for the rollout of Venu Sports, which aims to provide live sports coverage from major leagues such as the NFL and NBA, as well as content from ESPN and Warner Bros.’s TNT network.
Fubo, valued at approximately $481 million, will remain a publicly traded company. However, the smallest virtual TV operator has faced ongoing challenges, including high programming costs and subscriber turnover.
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