A federal judge on Friday granted a preliminary injunction against Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery, blocking the companies from launching their joint streaming venture, Venu Sports, as planned this fall.
Also read: Fubo Begins Preliminary Injunction Quest Against Venu Sports as Antitrust Suit’s Hearings Begin
In delivering such a verdict, which has a notoriously high legal bar, U.S. District Court Judge Margaret Garnett ruled that plaintiff Fubo is likely to prevail in proving its antitrust claim against the joint venture that the partnership will “substantially lessen competition and restrain trade.”
“Today’s ruling is a victory not only for Fubo but also for consumers,” Fubo co-founder and CEO David Gandler said in a statement. ”This decision will help ensure that consumers have access to a more competitive marketplace with multiple sports streaming options.”
Added Venu in a statement of its own: “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. 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.”
DirecTV, which has filed affidavits of support in Fubo’s antitrust gambit, released this statement: “We are pleased with the court decision and believe that it appropriately recognizes the potential harms of allowing major programmers to license their content to an affiliated distributor on more favorable terms than they license their content to third parties.”
Pay TV operators including Fubo have been begging Disney, Fox, WBD and other program licensors for decades to let them create sports-only bundles for their customers, only to be rebuffed each time.
Fubo's entry-level price point is around $80 a month, with the sport-focused streaming pay TV service forced, for example, to license smaller Disney channels in order to obtain ESPN.
However, Venu — which controls nearly half of major U.S. TV sports rights — is proposing a bundle of 15 linear sports channels, including ESPN, for $42.99 a month.
Fubo has, successfully so far, argued that this is an existential threat to its business model.
“Our fight continues,” Gandler added. “Fubo has said all along that we seek equal treatment from these media giants, and a level playing field in our industry. The proposed joint venture was only the latest example of anticompetitive practices that The Walt Disney Company, Fox Corp. and Warner Bros. Discovery have consistently engaged in for many years. We believe these practices monopolize the market, stifle competition and cheat consumers from deserved choice.”
