Sports and traditional media deals disrupted by unexpected last-minute events

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Why it’s important: Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox co-own Venu, and their plans to make it easier for sports fans to avoid linear TV have gotten trickier as a court order delays their launch, which was supposed to happen in a few weeks. Paramount, meanwhile, reached an agreement with David Ellison’s consortium to acquire the storied studio, but just before the last-minute bid deadline, former Warner Music Group CEO and Seagrams heir Edgar Bronfman Jr. made a bid. At the very least, the move will delay regulatory approval for Ellison if he doesn’t change the company’s future ownership.

Will Venu survive? As younger audiences shift away from linear and toward streaming, Venu was an attempt to meet the audience where it was, and do it in a way that combined a bundle of different sports. But combining three different major sports rights holders was an antitrust violation in the eyes of a judge who sided with streamer Fubo, which filed an injunction suit against Venu. If Venu were to go under, Disney/ESPN could benefit because its upcoming streaming service, ESPN, could then market itself as the premier streaming site for sports fans.

What’s coming to Paramount: Bronfman’s offer is reportedly worth $4.3 billion. The numbers are similar to Skydance’s proposal, except that Skydance would also have to integrate an outside production company and bring in a new management team, something Bronfman has not yet suggested.

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This story was published in cooperation with Anklea paid subscription publication about the entertainment industry.