Yesterday, Public Knowledge, along with seven other leading consumer and public interest groups, filed an amicus brief in the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in support of the district court’s preliminary injunction against a proposed joint venture among The Walt Disney Co., Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery.
The joint venture, known as “Venu,” would consolidate the live sports content rights of all three companies under one entity, reducing competition. While Venu is positioned as meeting consumer demand for streamlined sports content, this joint venture would, in practice, limit options and raise prices by eliminating independent competitors like FuboTV. The brief urges the court to uphold the district court’s injunction in the case FuboTV v. Disney.
The following can be attributed to John Bergmayer, Legal Director at Public Knowledge:
“Sports fans, along with all TV viewers, have made it clear that they want flexibility, affordable pricing, and the freedom to access the sports content they love without paying for channels they don’t need. Instead of fostering competition, Venu would tighten the grip of three major players on sports content, further limiting the ability of services like FuboTV to offer consumers meaningful choice while raising prices across the board. The district court’s injunction should be upheld.”
You may view the amicus brief for more information. You may also view our recent blog post, “Streamlining Sports Streaming: Getting Just the Games You Want Shouldn’t Be This Hard,” to learn more about what we can do to make the sports streaming marketplace fairer to consumers.
Members of the media may contact Communications Director Shiva Stella with inquiries, interview requests, or to join the Public Knowledge press list at shiva@publicknowledge.org or 405-249-9435.