A sports streaming venture by Fox, ESPN and Warner Bros. Discovery was temporarily blocked by a federal judge on Friday.
The three media companies planned to launch Venu Sports, a sports streaming platform that would offer several networks, in the fall, but have hit a snag due to FuboTV. Each company would share one-third ownership of the streaming service.
Two weeks after the new sports streaming service was announced in February, FuboTV filed a lawsuit claiming that the anticipated streaming service violated antitrust laws. It said in the suit filed on February 20 that the joint venture would “destroy competition and inflate prices for consumers.”
On Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Margaret M. Garnett in the Southern District of New York granted FuboTV’s motion for a preliminary injunction, delaying the start of Venu Sports.
Garnett said in her ruling that FuboTV will likely be successful in proving its claim that the joint venture would “substantially lessen competition and restrain trade” and that FuboTV and consumers would “face irreparable harm in the absence of an injunction.”
Fox, ESPN and Warner Bros. said in a joint statement that they would appeal the court’s ruling and argued that their venture is “pro-competitive.”
“We respectfully disagree with the court’s ruling and are appealing it. 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,” they said. “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 Chief Executive David Gandler called the new ruling a “victory” for his company and consumers in a statement.
“This decision will help ensure that consumers have access to a more competitive marketplace with multiple sports streaming options,” he said, adding that his company is seeking “equal treatment from these media giants, and a level playing field in our industry.”
In FuboTV’s lawsuit, it argued that it has attempted to offer a sports-only streaming service for years but couldn’t because Fox, ESPN and Warner Bros. Discovery imposed bundling requirements, a tactic that forces “Fubo to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to license and broadcast content that its customers do not want or need.”
Venu Sports announced earlier this month that it would be available for $42.99 per month. The streaming platform would offer the following linear networks: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SEC Network, ACC Network, ESPNEWS, ABC, FOX, FS1, FS2, Big Ten Network, TNT, TBS and truTV. ESPN+ would also be included in the streaming service.
Subscribers would also have the option to bundle the product with Disney+, Hulu and/or Max.
