Venu Sports, the proposed virtual MVPD service from The Walt Disney Company’s ESPN; FOX; and Warner Bros. Discovery, will be “discontinued” — a decision that comes after an out-of-court settlement resulted in Disney’s acquisition of sports-focused vMVPD Fubo, ending that entity’s lawsuit against the three companies designed to block Venu’s creation.
The collective decision by the three companies not to move forward with the contemplated joint venture is effective immediately, the companies said early Friday.
In a joint statement, ESPN, FOX and WBD said, “After careful consideration, we have collectively agreed to discontinue the Venu Sports joint venture and not launch the streaming service. In an ever-changing marketplace, we determined that it was best to meet the evolving demands of sports fans by focusing on existing products and distribution channels. We are proud of the work that has been done on Venu to date and grateful to the Venu staff, whom we will support through this transition period.”
In response, a DIRECTV spokesperson issued a statement of their own.
“DIRECTV remains a leader in sports, and we look forward to working with our programming partners – including Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery – to compete on a level playing field to deliver sports fans more choice, control, and value all-in-one experience,” the direct broadcast satellite service provider said.
Just yesterday, DirecTV had been raising concerns to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York along with Venu detractor EchoStar, with Michael Hartman, DirecTV’s General Counsel and Chief External Affairs Officer. On Thursday, Hartman wrote to court judge Margaret M. Garnett regarding the voluntary dismissal of FuboTV’s case against Disney — tied to the Fubo acquisition by Disney. Why? “Defendants have paid Plaintiff to ensure cooperation from an aggrieved competitor, but the settlement does nothing to resolve the underlying antitrust violations at issue,” Hartman argued. “Instead, this settlement restores an anticompetitive runway for the JV Defendants to control the future of the live pay TV market.”
Now, surprisingly and suddenly, that fight has ended, with EchoStar and DirecTV ending up with a win.
ACA Connects President/CEO Grant Spellmeyer, who represents an organization that represents small and independent cable TV systems operators across the U.S., called the abandonment of the Venu Sports vMVPD service “a win for sports fans.”
Spellmeyer continued, “They refused to be fooled. The media giants behind this sports streaming juggernaut threatened to control the marketplace so they could jack up prices and force consumers to pay for bloated bundles of programming. ACA Connects has long advocated for a more competitive and level playing field. That starts with allowing everyone, not just the biggest media players, to offer their customers the programming they want at prices they can afford.”
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