Will Venu Sports launch in time for the upcoming Super Bowl?
Will Venu Sports launch in time for the upcoming Super Bowl?
The sports-focused streaming service is likely to be on the way to customers very soon.
The NFL playoffs are beginning this weekend, which means the path to the Super Bowl has officially begun. All 14 teams still in the running have their sights on the Big Game, but they aren’t the only ones. Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery all have high hopes for the game as well, specifically because they’re hoping to get their joint venture streaming service Venu Sports to customers ahead of Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans.
Key Details:
- Venu is no longer bound by an injunction stemming from an antitrust lawsuit brought by Fubo.
- The streamer will combine live streams of 14 channels, including the ABC and Fox broadcast networks.
- The formerly-announced price of Venu was $43 per month.
Officials from Disney, Fox, and WBD were hoping to get Venu to viewers by the time the 2024-25 NFL playoffs began. But that was back when an injunction requested by Fubo as part of its antitrust lawsuit against Venu was in place, and the three companies were dependent on an appeal before they could begin actually selling their JV.
That lawsuit is now history, thanks to a deal between Disney and Fubo to merge the latter with the Hulu + Live TV streaming service. As part of the settlement between the parties, Fubo will be allowed to create a new streaming service with Disney-owned channels, presumably one that will be shrunk down to include mostly sports channels like Venu is slated to do.
Mollie Cahillane of Sports Business Journal says the sports media world is rife with speculation that Disney, Fox, and WBD will try to launch Venu in time for the Super Bowl — which Fox is hosting. That would certainly be logical, considering Fox does not offer an alternate way to stream the Big Game live unless viewers log into the Fox Sports app using TV Everywhere credentials from a pay-TV plan.
Previously, the three companies announced Venu would be priced at $43 per month. Whether that will still be the launch price of the service is just one of many unanswered questions surrounding the Fubo and Hulu + Live TV deal, but we do know that Venu will offer live streams of 14 sports-related channels, including ABC and Fox, as well as content from ESPN+.
Disney certainly has an interesting sports streaming future ahead of it. Not only will it assume 70% control of Fubo when its deal with that company closes, but it will also be launching a new ESPN streaming product dubbed Flagship later this year. With Venu hoping to launch ahead of the Super Bowl, the company will suddenly have quite a few sports streaming offerings to let customers choose from.
Venu Sports
Venu Sports is the planned live TV streaming service offering sports from ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, ESPNEWS, ABC, FOX, FS1, FS2, BTN, TNT, TBS, and truTV. Programming from ESPN+ and on-demand content will also be available. Users will be able to watch NFL, NBA, MLB, and NCAA games. Subscribers can bundle the product with Disney+, Hulu, or Max. Venu’s launch is on hold thanks to a preliminary injunction.