A US judge has temporarily blocked the launch of Venu, a sports streaming service created through a collaboration between Disney\u2019s ESPN, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Fox. The decision follows an antitrust suit filed by FuboTV, which argued that Venu would \u201csuffer irreparable harm\u201d to its business.
Judge Margaret Garnett granted an injunction on Friday to halt the launch of the service pending the outcome of Fubo’s lawsuit. The judge noted that Fubo is \u201clikely to succeed on its claims\u201d that the agreement between ESPN, Warner Bros., and Fox would \u201csubstantially lessen competition and restrain trade in the relevant market\u201d in violation of antitrust laws. ESPN, Fox, and Warner Bros. have announced plans to appeal the decision.
Venu was slated for a launch later this year, aimed at US consumers who have moved away from traditional pay TV bundles to streaming services. The service was expected to charge $42.99 per month and offer 15 channels exclusively featuring popular live sports events. Analysts had estimated that Venu could aggregate approximately $16 billion worth of sports rights.
FuboTV, launched in 2015, is a sports-focused streaming platform offering over 350 channels, including major sports events like Premier League football, MLB, NFL, and NBA games. The streaming platform claimed that Venu’s entry into the market would undercut its own competitive stance and offerings.
Disney, which plans to roll out a \u201cflagship\u201d ESPN streaming service in August 2025, aims to provide customers with a range of programming, including gaming, shopping, and interactive content in addition to live sports. Disney CEO Bob Iger has expressed goals for ESPN to become the \u201cpre-eminent digital sports platform.\u201d
FuboTV’s shares rose by 16.8% following the ruling, although the stock remains down by 51% this year. More details about the lawsuit and the ruling can be found on Financial Times.