Disney, fox and warner bros discovery The two companies announced in a joint statement Friday that they have canceled plans to launch a sports streaming service called Venu.
“After careful consideration, we have collectively agreed to terminate the Venu Sports joint venture and not launch a streaming service,” the companies said in a statement. “In an ever-changing market, we have determined that we can best meet the evolving demands of sports fans by focusing on our existing products and distribution channels. We are proud of Venu and grateful to Venu.” We look forward to supporting them through this transition period. ”
Venu was first announced in February and was intended to unite the live sports assets of Fox, WBD and Disney-owned ESPN. It was originally scheduled to launch before the start of the NFL season in September, but was delayed in part due to a legal challenge from internet TV bundler Fubo, which claimed the platform was anti-competitive.
Disney, Fox and WBD together control more than 50% of all U.S. sports media rights and at least 60% of U.S. nationally broadcast sports rights, according to a judge in an antitrust case. .
The news came as a shock to Venu employees who learned late Thursday night, according to people familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal matters. Disney announced earlier this week that its Hulu+ Live TV and Prefectural securityall lawsuits surrounding Venu have been settled.
However, the judge’s response in the Fubo case called into question the legality of the cable bundle in general, leading Disney to enter into an agreement with Fubo that would give Disney control of 70% of the company that would form the company. will obtain the right. And two days ago, satellite providers DirecTV and Dish sent a letter to federal court arguing that the legal questions raised by the judge remain unanswered.
Rather than risk protracted litigation that could jeopardize bundling in general, including Disney’s efforts to bundle its own streaming entities (ESPN, Hulu, Disney+), officials said The company has decided to pull the plug on Venu.
“DIRECTV continues to be a leader in the sports world, working with our programming partners including Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery to compete on a level playing field and bring more choice, control and value to sports fans, all in one place.” We look forward to delivering this experience to you,” DirecTV said in a statement.
An ad for Veenu Sports, a sports streaming venture from Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox, will be displayed at the Fanatics Fest event in New York City on August 16, 2024.
Jessica Golden | CNBC
Warner Bros. Discovery’s business model relies heavily on negotiating bundled carriage agreements for a number of cable networks, including CNN, TNT, HGTV and Food Network.
Disney aims to debut its comprehensive ESPN streaming service, the ESPN “flagship,” in August 2025. The as-yet-unnamed ESPN streaming service will include everything that airs on ESPN’s linear network, unlike ESPN+.
Disney’s deal with Fubo, along with the company’s recent fleet renewal with DirecTV, will also give the company so-called skinny bundles, a new packaging method that narrows down its channel selection for a smaller budget. That was the idea behind Venu: to sell a small number of linear channels for less money than traditional cable TV.
—CNBC’s Lillian Rizzo contributed to this report.
Disclosure: Comcast, which owns NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC, is a co-owner of Hulu.
