Following reports early on Monday morning, both Disney and Fubo have confirmed that they will be combining their live TV streaming services into a newly formed joint venture. While details are still coming into focus, once all corporate and regulatory hurdles have been cleared, Fubo and Hulu + Live TV will continue to operate separately, but will be run by a single company to provide “an enhanced choice of programming packages and address a variety of consumer preferences at attractive price points.”

Key Details:

• Disney and Fubo confirmed that their live streaming services will unite in a new company.
• While Disney will own roughly 70% of the company, Fubo’s CEO and management team will run the venture.
• The deal also includes a new carriage agreement and anti-trust lawsuit settlement.

The newly created streaming business will be a joint venture with approximately 70% of its ownership falling to Disney, with the remaining portion under Fubo’s control. However, Fubo CEO and co-founder David Gandler will service as CEO with Fubo’s current management team running the company.

“We are thrilled to collaborate with Disney to create a consumer-first streaming company that combines the strengths of the Fubo and Hulu + Live TV brands,” Gandler said. “This combination enables us to deliver on our promise to provide consumers with greater choice and flexibility. Additionally, this agreement allows us to scale effectively, strengthens Fubo’s balance sheet and positions us for positive cash flow. It’s a win for consumers, our shareholders, and the entire streaming industry.”

On its own, Hulu + Live TV was already the second largest live TV streaming service on the market. In August 2024, Disney reported that the streamer had 4.4 million customers. However, by combining with Fubo — which last reported having 1.91 million customers in November — the new company will be much closer to competing with YouTube TV, which announced that it had eclipsed 8 million customers in February 2024. Disney and Fubo said that the merger will result in the new entity having 6.2 million North American subscribers.

“This combination will allow both Hulu + Live TV and Fubo to enhance and expand their virtual MVPD offerings and provide consumers with even more choice and flexibility,” Disney EVP Justin Warbrooke said. “We have confidence in the Fubo management team and their ability to grow the business, delivering high-quality offerings that serve subscribers with the content they want and offering great value.”

Hulu’s on-demand service will not be part of the deal and will remain completely under Disney’s ownership, once its purchasing process with Comcast has been finalized. Hulu + Live TV will continue to be available as part of the Disney Bundle that also offers Hulu, Disney+, and ESPN+.

In addition to the new streaming partnership, the deal also includes a new carriage agreement between Disney and Fubo that allows the latter to offer a new “Sports & Broadcast service.” In February 2024, Fubo filed an anti-trust lawsuit against Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery in an effort to prevent the companies from launching a joint venture that would bring all of their combined channels that broadcast sports into a single streaming service. Eventually, that streamer became known as Venu Sports.

Venu has been blocked from launching due to an injunction, however, as part of this agreement, Fubo is dropping its suit and has reached settlements with all three companies. Disney is set to make a $220 million cash payment to Fubo and will extend a $145 million loan to the company in 2026. The details of Fubo’s settlements with Fox and WBD have not yet been disclosed.

The “Sports & Broadcast service” will not only be allowed to feature Disney’s broadcast and cable channels but also ESPN+. This appears to be similar to the carriage agreement details that Disney and DIRECTV inked in September that allowed the satellite and streaming company to create genre-specific packages for subscribers.

This was one of the major points of contention in Fubo’s anti-trust suit. By Disney, Fox, and WBD creating a service around their combined 14 sports-broadcasting channels and two standalone streaming services, Fubo argued that they had an anti-competitive advantage that would harm consumers. Now that both Fubo and DIRECTV appear to have similar capabilities, it opens the door for Venu to finally launch.