DIRECTV, EchoStar believe Venu antitrust case should continue
DIRECTV, EchoStar believe Venu antitrust case should continue
The two satellite companies still think Venu constitutes an antitrust violation, and sent letters to Judge Margaret Garnett to that effect.
Disney and Fubo got this week started with a shocker, an announcement that they planned to merge Fubo’s live TV streaming business with Hulu + Live TV. As part of the whirlwind transaction, Fubo agreed to withdraw an antitrust lawsuit leveled against the joint venture sports streaming service Venu Sports which Disney has developed alongside Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery. That decision isn’t sitting well with DIRECTV and EchoStar — the parent company of DISH and Sling TV — who had previously filed statements of support for the lawsuit and this week have written letters to the case’s presiding judge to register their displeasure that Venu appears set to hit the market.
Key Details:
- DIRECTV and EchoStar say that the antitrust complaints against Venu are still valid, even with Fubo’s complaint withdrawn.
- There is a possibility that the two satellite companies attempt to revive the lawsuit.
- Venu was blocked by a preliminary injunction, but now hopes to be available to customers by the Super Bowl.
In their letters to Judge Margaret Garnett, both DIRECTV and EchoStar argue that the potential violations of antitrust law inherent to Venu have not disappeared simply because Disney is preparing to buy majority ownership in Fubo. Disney, Fox, and WBD “cannot purchase their way out of the antitrust violations,” DIRECTV said.
Both DIRECTV and EchoStar say they are “evaluating” their options moving forward, and though there’s nothing they can do to stop Fubo’s lawsuit against Venu from being dismissed, they might pursue legal action of their own accord. Fubo first sued to stop the launch of Venu in February 2024, and in April DIRECTV and EchoStar sent written letters supporting Fubo’s position that Venu would hurt competition in live TV streaming.
Venu is a presumably forthcoming sports-focused streaming platform that will offer streams of 14 sports-related channels from Disney, Fox, and WBD. Fubo argued that allowing it to be sold would sap millions of viewers away from cable, satellite, and streaming live TV services, and the court agreed to the extent that it granted a preliminary injunction preventing Venu from reaching customers.
It may be difficult for DIRECTV to revive the lawsuit, since it won the right to create genre-specific channel packages in a carriage dispute with Disney last September. There haven’t been any public updates on DIRECTV’s efforts to bring those plans to market in the meantime, but it might have a hard time arguing that Venu is a product other streamers aren’t allowed to replicate considering it has permission from Disney to put its channels in slimmed-down bundles.
Venu hopes to launch in time for customers to sign up ahead of February’s Super Bowl, which will air on Fox. Disney may have nullified the biggest legal threat to its JV streamer by merging Hulu + Live TV and Fubo, but other distributors still aren’t happy about the impending launch of Venu.
Venu Sports
Venu Sports was the planned live TV streaming service that would offer sports from ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, ESPNEWS, ABC, FOX, FS1, FS2, BTN, TNT, TBS, and truTV. Programming from ESPN+ and on-demand content would also be available, as would broadcasts of NFL, NBA, MLB, and NCAA games. However, in January 2025, after Fubo and Hulu + Live TV officially merged, Venu’s launch was put on hold thanks to a preliminary injunction. It was only a few days later that the joint venture was officially shut down for good.