Trial Date Set for Venu Sports Antitrust Lawsuit

Published: September 16, 2024

Trial Date Set for Venu Sports Antitrust Lawsuit

By Movieguide® Contributor

A federal judge has set an October 2025 trial date for the lawsuit between Fubo and Venu, a sports streaming site launched by Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD).

Venu’s creation was shockingly blocked in August when a judge ruled it would violate antitrust laws. The judge explained that because the three companies account for over half of all sports broadcasts, a joint venture would greatly limit consumer choice in the long run.

“The three companies control about 54% of all US sports rights, and at least 60% of all nationally broadcast US sports rights,” Federal Judge Margaret Garnett said in her ruling.

“There is significant evidence in the record that the true figures may be even larger,” Judge Garnett continued “This means that alone, Disney, Fox, and (Warner Bros. Discovery) are each significant players in live sports licensing, who otherwise compete against each other both to secure sports telecast rights and to attract viewers to their live sports programming. But together, they are dominant.”

Disney, Fox and WBD quickly appealed the decision but are required to undergo lengthy legal procedures to overturn the judge’s ruling. Venu was originally set to release in September, just ahead of the start of the NFL season.

“We believe that Fubo’s arguments are wrong on the facts and the law, and that Fubo has failed to prove it is legally entitled to a preliminary injunction,” Disney, Fox and WBD stated after the injunction. “Venu Sports is a pro-competitive option that aims to enhance consumer choice.”

Fubo is set to benefit from the October 2025 trial date as Venu will remain off the market until the dispute is settled. For this reason, Venu’s legal team pushed for a February 2026 trial.

Movieguide® previously reported:

The launch of ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery’s Venu Sports, dubbed “the future home of sports streaming,” has been temporarily blocked after Fubo, a smaller sports streaming platform, requested a preliminary injunction.

Per ESPN, “United States District Judge Margaret M. Garnett in the Southern District of New York said in her 69-page ruling Friday that Fubo was likely to be successful in proving that the joint venture would violate antitrust laws and that Fubo and consumers would ‘face irreparable harm in the absence of an injunction.’”

Venu Sports was set to aggregate 15 linear TV networks, offering “cord-cutters access to a host of sporting events drawing from each of the media companies’ portfolios, including the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, tennis, soccer, golf, NASCAR races and UFC matches.”