Court Blocks Disney-Fox-WBD Sports Broadcast Bundle

The three entertainment companies were seeking to create a new streaming service called Venu Sports that is set to launch this fall and charge $42.99 a month for access to networks across their portfolios, including ESPN, Fox Sports and TNT. Fubo said at the time that bundling sports content from the three companies would put other distributors like Fubo at a “severe competitive disadvantage.” DirecTV and Dish sided with Fubo in the case.

The deal has also raised concerns among lawmakers like Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), who recently asked federal regulators to investigate. They warned that the joint venture could put the companies “in a position to exercise monopoly power over televised sporting events” and would effectively require competitors to negotiate with the joint venture companies “for access to more than half of the major sports licensing rights while simultaneously competing against these companies to provide the best product for broadcasting or streaming those programs.”

Southern District of New York Judge Margaret Garnett said Fubu was likely to succeed in proving the deal violated the Clayton Act governing mergers and acquisitions, and granted a preliminary injunction blocking it.

“Simply put, the antitrust problem the joint venture poses is this: If the joint venture is allowed to launch, it will be the only option in the market for those television consumers who want to spend their money on multiple live sports channels that they like to watch, but not on redundant entertainment channels that they don’t like,” Garnett wrote. “And the joint venture’s corporate owners—the joint venture defendants—are the same players who (1) used their long-standing bundling practices to create a void in the pay-TV market that the joint venture was specifically designed to fill, and (2) exercised near-monopoly control over the ability to have a different live sports-only streaming service that competes with the joint venture.”

“This decision is a win for both Fubo and consumers,” said David Gandler, co-founder and CEO of Fubo. “This decision will help ensure that consumers have access to a more competitive marketplace with multiple sports streaming options,” he said in a statement. “But our fight continues. Fubo has said all along that we seek equal treatment from these media giants, and a level playing field in our industry. The proposed joint venture is just the latest example of the anti-competitive practices that The Walt Disney Company, Fox Corp. and Warner Bros. Discovery have consistently engaged in for many years. We believe these practices monopolize the market, stifle competition, and deprive consumers of their rightful choice.”

Fino Sports did not immediately respond to requests for comment.