Venu sports streaming service is dead

Summary

Venu Sports, the live sports streaming service that never launched, is dead.
The service was co-founded by Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery but faced an antitrust lawsuit from Fubo.
Disney recently announced a deal to merge Hulu + Live TV with Fubo, and Fubo agreed to settle its litigation related to Venu.

It’s official. Venu Sports, the live sports streaming service, is dead. The service, which was supposed to launch in the fall of last year, was prevented from launching due to an antitrust lawsuit. Its co-founders, Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery, have issued a joint statement.

“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.”

Venu Sports was announced in early 2024, and was a joint-venture by Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery. The service was set to feature live games from the NFL, NHL, MBA and MLB and include popular networks such as ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, FOX, TNT, TBS, and more.

a multimedia remote controlling a streaming service on a colored background

Disney just bought another streamer, and YouTube TV should be scared

The Walt Disney company has announced a deal that merges Hulu + Live TV with Fubo to create a newly combined company.

Venu Sports ran into trouble fast

Fubo filed an antitrust lawsuit against the service

Venu

Venu ran into legal roadblocks almost immediately after being announced. Fubo filed a lawsuit saying the service violated antitrust rules. A federal judge temporarily blocked the launch of Venu in August. However, just days ago, Disney announced a deal to merge Hulu + Live TV with Fubo, pending regulatory approval. Fubo settled all its litigation with Venu Sports in conjunction with the deal.

Venu was set to be a tantalizing offer for sports fans, offering lots of live sports content for just $43 per month. When Disney announced its plans to merge Hulu + Live TV with Fubo, there was speculation that Venu could finally move forward. But the powers that be have decided otherwise.

Disney’s deal to merge Hulu + Live TV with Fubo is still pending regulatory approval, which executives say could take 12-18 months. It’s unclear if the decision not to launch Venu will impact Disney’s deal with Fubo. Disney is also expected to launch ESPN’s new direct-to-consumer sports streaming platform later this year.