FuboTV's antitrust trial against the launch of Venu Sports, the new sports streaming service by The Walt Disney Company, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery is set to begin on October 6, 2025, according to a court filing on September 12, 2024. A U.S. judge had temporarily blocked the joint venture after FuboTV accused them of antitrust practices that would prevent competition and lead to price hikes for customers.
U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett said last month that Venu's media partners could “exercise near-monopolistic control” over sports rights to prevent rivals from emerging. “Counsel are free to negotiate interim deadlines among themselves without the involvement of the court, although the Court’s assistance is available if needed,” Garnett wrote. “Other than dates for submissions to the Court, and dates for the close of fact discovery and the close of expert discovery, counsel may agree to alterations of other listed dates below without the Court’s approval." The judge noted that the dates and deadlines would “not be extended absent compelling circumstances” and that the trial start date should be “treated as firm.” She added: “Based on representations of counsel as of the date of this order and the Court’s own assessment of the time needed, the Court anticipates that a trial in this matter will last 3-4 weeks.”
The new streamer, led by former Apple executive Pete Distad, is aiming for 5 million subscribers in the first five years and was expected to launch in the United States this fall. The platform will be priced at $42.99 per month with a seven-day free trial, and aims to attract younger viewers who are not tuned in to cable TV.
Disney, Fox and WBD have appealed the August 16 ruling, which blocks Venu Sports from launching this fall. “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,” the companies said in a joint statement last month. “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.”
Fubo co-founder and CEO David Gandler called the ruling a victory for not only the company, but for consumers: “This decision will help ensure that consumers have access to a more competitive marketplace with multiple sports streaming options,” he wrote. “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.”
Moreover, Paramount‘s co-Ceo George Cheeks and NBC Sports President of Acquisition & Partnerships, Jon Miller, were consulted, during the IMG-RedBird Summit in the UK, about the platform. “I think of it both as a broadcaster and a programmer, but also as a sports fan,” Miller said. “Why would you ever invest in a property that loses basically 45% of the NFL, has none of the golf major championships, loses half of motorsports in NASCAR, loses March Madness every other year and will lose half of the NBA opportunity because Amazon and NBC have two NBA packages?”
Miller continued: “To me, it would be fool’s gold to invest in something like this when you can get all of that stuff by going through your cable subscription or buying a YouTube TV subscription. So, we weren’t invited, [but] we’re very happy with the hand that we have right now. We’re continually looking to grow, make partnerships and be in business with people who see the value in what we bring to the table.”
Cheeks commented: “We weren’t hurt by not being invited. I think that’s because we’re really focused on a multi-genre offering. When we look at the stats of Paramount+, we look at subscribers who came in for sports. Ninety percent of their time is spent on the services with non-sports content, so I think a more robust offering that has sports, news and entertainment is a better offering for the consumer.”
“The value proposition of the combination of broadcast, linear and streaming to drive unduplicated reach is reinforced by the stats,” Cheeks added. “If you just take last season, CBS’ [coverage of the] NFL regular season was up 5%. It was the highest rated regular season since 1998 when CBS reacquired the NFL, and it was up more than 50% on Paramount+. We’re meeting the audiences where they want to be and we’re not cannibalizing. We’re actually growing audience even when linear is declining.”
Miller mentioned there were “only three companies out there that offer broadcast, cable and streaming” — NBCUniversal, CBS/Paramount and Disney/ABC. “The other competitors who are out there, who all do a great job, don’t have those three different opportunities to bring everything together, and that’s what leverages our ability to maximize the benefits to our partners.”