Venu Sports Joint Venture Scrapped By Partners

Venu Sports, the proposed virtual MVPD service from ESPN, FOX and Warner Bros. Discovery, will be discontinued, the three companies said in what they called a collective decision not to move forward with the contemplated joint venture.

The decision is effective immediately. The move is surprise as a transaction announced earlier this week between Disney and Fubo appeared to have paved the way for Venu to launch. The debut of the sports streaming service had been delayed by a Fubo lawsuit that was headed to court.

“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.”

It’s an odd look so soon after settling but Deadline hears the three partners came together and after serious reflection decided to end Venu. The distribution situation on the ground had changed with the market moving to more so-called “skinny bundles” of content, as per Disney’s distribution deal with DirecTV as well as those anticipated with Fubo and venture partners. Disney in particular, we hear, was focused on the launch of flagship streamer ESPN+ set for fall of 2025.

Too much time passed in a fast moving media landscape since Venu was announced in early 2024 with plans to launch last fall stayed by a temporary injunction. The Disney-Fubo deal cleared the way for Venu, but also changed the dynamics of the deal. All three partners discussed and determined to scrap the JV — although not all three were equally committed to do that when discussions started, Deadline hears, with Disney leading the way.

There was also a possibility that another party might potentially have picked a legal fight even after Fubo withdrew. DirecTV yesterday challenged the dismissal of Fubo’s lawsuit, according to a news report, saying in a letter to the judge in the case that it doesn’t resolve antitrust issues around the joint venture.

The transaction announced Monday, just hours before a scheduled court hearing in New York, calls for Disney to combine its Hulu + Live TV business with Fubo and become majority owner of the resulting company, creating a major streaming player and settling litigation between Fubo and Disney, Fox and WBD over Venu.

The combined business of former adversaries will operate under Fubo’s publicly traded company (stock symbol FUBO) as the nation’s sixth largest pay-TV operator with 6.2 million subscribers and be led by the existing Fubo management team with a cash infusion from Disney. 

The merger will create increasingly popular skinnier bundles in sports, news and entertainment. The deal amends Fubo’s carriage agreements with Fox and Disney, the latter creating a new Sports & Broadcasting offering to include, on the Disney side, ESPN+, ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN and ESPNEWS.

Disney’s DirecTV renewal announced in September call for bringing to market “multiple genre-specific options” for slimmer bundles of channels at lower price points, including sports.

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