The long awaited won’t happen again, and so on. The sports-focused streaming service will be a joint offering of Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox. No concrete reason was given, other than corporate-speak.
“In an ever-changing market, we determined to best meet the changing needs of sports fans by focusing on existing products and distribution channels -apod,” the companies wrote in a statement.
We believe this move will also involve some serious layoffs, as Venu has been around for a long time. To that end, the companies said they are “proud of the work Venu has done so far and grateful to Venu’s staff, whom we will support during this transition period.” There are no details on what this support will include.
Venu Sports, the proposed virtual MVPD service from ESPN, FOX & Warner Bros. Discovery, no more
The collective decision of the three companies not to proceed with the contemplated joint venture is effective immediately
In addition: https://t.co/Cvwv2h601G pic.twitter.com/lylDeHDy9p
– ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) January 10, 2025
The real reason for the closure is likely due to ongoing legal problems. As a threat disappeared this week, with Fubo another appeared in his place. A few days after Disney announced an agreement to merge Hulu + Live TV with Fubo, a pair of satellite TV companies a pre-existing injunction that .
DirecTV and EchoStar have suggested that Fubo and Disney’s newfound friendship won’t solve the alleged antitrust issues surrounding Venu Sports. DirecTV wrote to a judge, saying the joint venture “restores an anticompetitive runway” for the companies “to control the future of the live pay TV market.” EchoStar wrote a similar letter.
An unnamed source familiar with Venu Sports said The Hollywood Reporter that the move to cancel the streaming service was made in the past few days and that the aforementioned legal snafu played a role.