Sports-Streaming Bundle Spiked Before the Kickoff

Welp, one fewer bundle to worry about. Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery have pulled the plug on Venu, the mega-service that was once set to host a raft of major leagues under one banner, including the NFL, NBA, MLB, college football, and the WNBA, among several others. That’s all gone this week, in the wake of Disney’s play to fold Fubo TV into Hulu + Live TV and take control of 70 percent of the company, earning the Mouse another major stake in the world of sports streaming.

“After careful consideration, we have collectively agreed to discontinue the Venu Sports joint venture and not launch the streaming service,” said Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery in a joint statement.

The writing was on the wall for Venu last August when a court decision benched the service; Fubo filed a lawsuit arguing that a combined sports service from the three media heavyweights would run afoul of antitrust laws. (Combined, Disney, Fox, and Warners dominate more than half of all sports media rights in the United States, the judge in the case said.) In the end Disney opted to settle with Fubo, CNBC notes, to avoid any further litigation that could risk the legality of bundling in general. “Cable is God, protect our right to bundle!!” every streaming exec in Hollywood cried in unison, probably. Apparently that also meant sacrificing Venu in the end.

The resulting Fubo-Hulu deal isn’t Disney’s only sports-streaming ball in play. “Flagship” is reportedly the codename of another projected to launch in August 2025, that will roll up ESPN’s programming (meaning live ESPN plus ESPN+) under one streamer.

• [CNBC]

the play by play

• A Big New Sports Streaming Service Is Coming This Year
• The Venu Bundle Enters the Streaming Arena
• The Venu Sports Streaming Bundle Will Be Benched for a Bit