Fubo and Hulu + Live TV made it easy to identify which story of 2025 was the biggest for each streamer — especially since it was the same story. Ever since the beginning of the year, the two sides have been moving toward a merger that was first announced in January that has fascinating implications for the future of live TV streaming.

The combined company will be 70% owned by Disney, though the current Fubo management team will be held over once the merger is complete. There are plenty of questions still to be answered, such as how many Fubo plans will continue to be sold, whether the Disney Bundle will be included with Fubo, and how Disney will price things going forward.

More of these questions will be answered as the closing date of the deal gets closer. The merger is still subject to regulatory review, and the Trump administration hasn’t been shy about making life difficult for perceived enemies in such media transactions. The Department of Justice has already promised to review the deal thoroughly before allowing it to proceed, and Disney and Fubo will try to tread as carefully as they can as the process moves toward completion.

Steps have already been taken by the two companies toward finishing the deal. In October, they announced they had finished combining their businesses, and now form a pay-TV company with nearly 6 million North American subscribers. The two still operate on separate apps, however, and there are many steps forward for Fubo and Hulu + Live TV to take before their merger is complete.

Once it is, it will be fascinating to see if Disney can get some important channels restored to Fubo’s airwaves. The streamer hasn’t had TNT or TBS since 2020, and more recently NBCUniversal channels were blacked out on Fubo, thanks to a new carriage dispute. Disney will probably have considerably more leverage with these programmers than Fubo does, and both Turner Sports and NBCU channels are currently found on Hulu + Live TV — a sign that Disney has a decent chance of reaching new deals with Warner Bros. Discovery and Comcast.

The live TV streaming landscape is changing rapidly, with companies like Sling TV, and YouTube TV all trying to find different ways to package channels to give customers variety. A merger of Fubo and Hulu + Live TV could create similar opportunities for new channel bundles, and it has the intriguing potential to be a major sports player in streaming as the marketplace continues to evolve.