Venu Sports backers lose motion to dismiss case, still hope for lifted injunction
Venu Sports backers lose motion to dismiss case, still hope for lifted injunction
Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery were back in court late last week, only to be handed another defeat in Fubo’s antitrust suit against Venu.
It’s been a while since we heard the name Venu Sports. The joint venture service conceived by Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery was intended to carry 14 sports-related channels like ESPN, FS1, and TNT, but was slapped with an antitrust lawsuit by Fubo long before it was ready to launch. Venu’s backers were in court on Friday to hear of their latest defeat, a loss of their motion to dismiss the case outright, meaning that proceedings will continue as scheduled.
Key Details:
- Judge Margaret Garnett threw out motions to dismiss the Venu lawsuit.
- The three sides are still trying to get the injunction against Venu lifted in appeals court.
- Venu’s trial is currently scheduled for October 2025.
The loss of the motion to dismiss Fubo’s case against Venu was meted out by Judge Margaret Garnett, who also dealt Disney, Fox, and WBD a severe blow in August when she ruled in favor of an injunction to keep the streamer from being sold to the public while the lawsuit went forward.
The three companies have appealed that injunction, hoping to get Venu out before the end of the 2024-25 NFL season. All parties are now due in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Jan. 6 to make oral arguments as to whether or not the injunction should stay in place.
It is Fubo's contention that if Venu were allowed to launch, it would lead to less consumer choice in the live TV streaming marketplace overall, since the joint venture would put competing services out of business by draining away their customers.
Disney, Fox, and WBD continue to argue that Venu is a pro-competition service and that it’s not their job to stop themselves from creating products Fubo doesn’t have a way to compete with. Those arguments haven’t held much sway with Judge Garnett so far, but perhaps they’ll have better luck with the Second Circuit.
Venu’s trial is currently slated for October 2025. Most analysts now believe that if things get that far, Venu doesn’t stand much of a chance. Disney isn’t waiting for the outcome of the trial to move forward with other sports streaming products, however; it recently launched the ESPN tile on Disney+, and will roll out a new, comprehensive ESPN streaming service with livestreams of the linear cable channels and other features before next football season.
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