FuboTV, a sports-focused streaming service, stated on Tuesday that it has filed a $1 Billion lawsuit against a group of media houses, including Walt Disney, Fox, ESPN, and Warner Bros. Discovery, who are planning to start a sports streaming platform.
Disney, Fox, Warner Sports Streaming Deal
In February 2024, Fox, Disney’s ESPN, and Warner Bros. Discovery announced that they would launch streaming platforms intended to cater to younger viewers who do not watch TV.
The venture will involve pooling the media companies’ broad portfolio of professional and collegiate sports rights, which span the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, the FIFA World Cup, and college competitions.
FuboTV Initiates Lawsuit Battle
The main objection of FuboTV in the lawsuit is that on one hand, it is being forced into unfair bundling, or the carrying, of several non-sports channels, thus leading to a huge financial burden. On the other hand, the media houses mentioned above will pool their resources, thus throttling competition.
FuboTV also alleged that the media companies charge 30 to 50% higher than the other distributors’ rates. The process eventually forces its subscribers to be charged for services they do not need.
The new service, which has not been named, is expected to offer an all-in-one package that will include television channels, such as ESPN, TNT, and FS1, as well as streamed sports content.
ESPN, Fox, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Hulu will each share one-third of the ownership of the joint venture. The name and the pricing of the package have not been announced yet.
David Gandler, co-founder and CEO of FuboTV, said in a statement,
“Each of these companies has consistently engaged in anticompetitive practices that aim to monopolize the market, stifle any form of competition, create higher pricing for subscribers, and cheat consumers from deserved choice. Simply put, this sports cartel blocked our playbook for many years, and now they are effectively stealing it for themselves.”
The lawsuit alleges that Fubo is a sports-centric platform, and by forcing Fubo also to stream channels that are not in its niche field, the group is killing healthy competition while at the same time blocking Fubo by offering the same package.
Fubo does not want the joint venture to be stalled but is seeking cash damages for the business which it will lose.
FuboTV was created in 2015 and is reported to have 1.48 million paid subscribers in North America.
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