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Judge blocks launch of ESPN-Fox-WBD venture Venu Sports over antitrust concerns

jack baer
Staff writer
·2 min read
ST. LOUIS, MO - APRIL 06: The ESPN Logo on display during the USL football game between the Arlington Renegades and the St. Louis Battlehawks on April 06, 2024 at The Dome at America's Center in St. Louis, MO.(Photo by Jeffrey Brown/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
ESPN and its partners have a few obstacles in front of them if they want to get Venu Sports off the ground. (Photo by Jeffrey Brown/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery, three of the biggest companies in sports media, banded together to form Venu Sports, a potential disruptor in the streaming world.

At least one streaming company — and now one federal judge — didn't like that.

U.S. Judge Margaret Garnett issued a temporary injunction blocking the launch of Venu at the request of Fubo TV, according to CNBC, as part of an antitrust lawsuit filed by the streamer. Venu had reportedly been scheduled to launch Aug. 23, in time for the start of the NFL season.

Venu Sports has been presented as a new service for sports fans that would feature channels from all three media giants, including ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, Fox, Fox Sports 1, TNT, TBS and many more. The price is steep, at $42.99 per month, but it could be attractive to sports-focused cord-cutters.

By comparison, Fubo offers even more channels in a digital approximation of a cable subscription. The price is higher, with the cheapest English package coming in at $79.99.

Garnett reportedly didn't like the idea of the three companies leveraging their billions of sports rights:

In court documents, U.S. Judge Margaret Garnett noted that the three companies control about 54% of all U.S. sports rights, and at least 60% of all nationally broadcast U.S. sports rights.

“There is significant evidence in the record that the true figures may be even larger,” Garnett said in court papers.

"This means that alone, Disney, Fox, and [Warner Bros. Discovery] are each significant players in live sports licensing, who otherwise compete against each other both to secure sports telecast rights and to attract viewers to their live sports programming. But together, they are dominant,” Garnett said in her decision.

Venu has seen plenty of concerns since its announcement, as well as jokes that the companies are simply forming a new form of cable television. In addition to Fubo's lawsuit, it is facing scrutiny from both the Department of Justice and Congress.