Venu Hoping to Be Live for January’s NFL and College Football Playoffs
Venu Hoping to Be Live for January’s NFL and College Football Playoffs
The defendants in the Venu antitrust suit have proposed a timeline in their injunction appeal that could still allow Venu to be sold for key football events.
Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery are still clinging to the hope that they can get their joint venture streamer Venu Sports in front of customers before the 2024-25 NFL and college football action ends. That’s according to new information from Matthew Belloni of Puck News, as reported by Sports Business Journal, which says the three companies are hoping they can appeal the injunction against Venu successfully in time for the NFL and College Football Playoffs in January 2025.
Key Details:
- Venu was originally due to launch in August, but was slapped with a preliminary injunction on Aug. 16.
- The three companies behind Venu have asked for an expedited appeals process.
- Viewers are more likely to sign up for a new sports streamer to watch football than they are for other sports.
Venu was originally due to arrive for customers as early as Aug. 23. But the live TV streaming company Fubo asked for a preliminary injunction halting the service from being sold as part of its antitrust lawsuit against Venu, arguing that if it were allowed to be sold while the suit went forward it would suffer irreparable harm.
A federal judge agreed with Fubo’s argument, and issued the injunction on Aug. 16. Disney, Fox and WBD filed an appeal of that decision days later, and have asked the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals for an expedited review of their plea. Fubo has not objected to that request, perhaps a sign that they’re confident the appeals process will also go their way.
The ideal timeline for Disney, Fox, and WBD with the appellate court has now been revealed. Belloni reports the companies have proposed to submit their main brief by Sept. 20, which would give Fubo until Nov. 4 to compile its response. That would allow for a hearing sometime in December, with a ruling to follow shortly thereafter. If Venu’s backers were to win their appeal request, they would be allowed to start selling Venu in time for the NFL playoffs as well as the College Football Playoffs.
Belloni notes that the timeline laid out by Disney, Fox, and WBD is “pretty optimistic,” as the 2nd Circuit is not known for its expedited handling of appeal requests.
Fubo
Fubo is a live TV streaming service offering a robust lineup of approximately 150 premier channels, with plans starting at $63.99 per month. This entry-level package provides access to local broadcast affiliates 18 of the leading 35 cable channels channels, and valuable regional sports networks (RSNs).
Why is Launching In Time for Football Playoffs So Important for Venu?
Two of the three companies behind the creation of Venu are already NFL partners and know full well how much of a ratings bonanza the league’s games are. Live NFL games accounted for 93 of the 100 most-watched TV programs in 2023, and college football games took three of the outstanding six spots on the list.
Live TV streaming services like Fubo and Sling TV almost always see a group of customers cancel their subscriptions after football season, as many viewers signed up specifically to watch NFL and college games. It will be much more difficult for Venu to make the case to viewers that it’s worth $42.99 per month if its top programming choices are regular-season NBA and NHL games, assuming the service wins its appeal sometime after the end of football season.
All hope of launching Venu this fall as originally intended is officially gone. The streamer's website confirms as much; gone is a banner proudly displaying the phrase “Coming Fall 2024,” and in its place stands a disclaimer at the bottom of the page saying “Launch is conditional on receiving regulatory approval.”
ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro had the chance to speak about the injunction ruling at ESPN’s Media Days on Wednesday. He toed the line that Disney, Fox, and WBD have been trying to advance all along, saying that Venu is good for competition and does not constitute a violation of antitrust laws.
“We do respectfully disagree with the court’s decision on the preliminary injunction and we are appealing…We believe that Venu is a pro-competitive service,” Pitaro said. “It is pro-consumer, pro sports fan … and we believe it’s giving the sports fan another option and it’s primarily directed at sports fans on the sidelines today, whether on sidelines because they cut the cord or never subscribed to the traditional ecosystem.”
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.