Disney, Fox Corp., and Warner Bros. Discovery’s joint sports streaming venture, Venu Sports, filed an appeal requesting permission to resume its launch plans after Fubo successfully blocked them with an antitrust lawsuit.
Appeal Filed in Fubo Lawsuit
The trio announced plans to launch their joint sports streaming service early this year, later revealing the name of Venu Sports and price information. Fubo filed their antitrust lawsuit soon after the initial announcement, alleging the service would create a monopoly and that Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. “engaged in a years-long campaign to block Fubo’s innovative sports-first streaming business resulting in significant harm to both Fubo and consumers.” The Fubo CEO later said the fight would be a “duel to the death.”
In August, U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett granted Fubo’s request to block the bundle, writing, “The multi-year monopolistic runway they have created for themselves will provide powerful incentives to thwart competition and hike prices on both consumers and other distributors.”
Deadline shared Venu Sports’ new brief, filed late Friday, September 20, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. The brief states:
The district court’s decision contradicts well-settled antitrust law. The ruling denies consumers a new, lower-cost, innovative product—so as to protect Fubo from increased competition. That is the opposite of what the antitrust laws seek to achieve. This Court should reverse.
The brief goes on to state that “Venu is designed to attract price-conscious sports fans who have dropped out of, or never been part of, the traditional TV ecosystem,” that the service would have no exclusive content, and that it would “increase output and lower prices.”
Fubo has until November 4 to file a response.
U.S. Representatives also expressed concerns about Venu Sports this April.
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