Yesterday, Fubo announced a settlement of its antitrust litigation against Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery, alongside plans to form a joint venture combining Fubo with Disney’s Hulu + Live TV business. Public Knowledge previously filed an amicus brief in support of Fubo’s challenge to anticompetitive conduct in the sports streaming market, including bundling practices and restrictive licensing terms.
Under the terms, Disney will own 70% of a new combined virtual multichannel video programming distribution, or vMVPD, joint venture, which Fubo will manage. The settlement also resolves Fubo’s opposition to Venu Sports, the sports streaming service jointly planned by Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery, allowing for its launch. The transaction requires regulatory approval.
The following statement can be attributed to John Bergmayer, Legal Director at Public Knowledge:
“The settlement announcement and the creation of a streaming joint venture between Fubo and Disney raises serious concerns about competition in the streaming video marketplace. While presented as a win for consumer choice, this combination effectively eliminates one of the few remaining independent companies that was actively working to provide consumers with more flexible and affordable streaming options.
“Fubo has been a leading provider of sports-focused streaming and an important competitive check on larger media companies. Its combination with Hulu + Live TV reduces the likelihood that consumers will see meaningful price competition or innovative new offerings in sports streaming.
“While the settlement allows for the launch of Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery’s Venu Sports streaming service, having multiple services under common ownership or control is not a substitute for genuine competition between independent companies. The streaming marketplace needs more independent competitors, not fewer.
“We urge antitrust regulators to carefully scrutinize this joint venture and consider whether the combination of Fubo with Hulu + Live TV’s operations will serve the public interest. Consumers benefit most from a competitive marketplace with multiple independent providers, not one dominated by a small number of powerful media conglomerates operating under various brand names.”
To learn more about how complicated following your favorite team has become in the streaming era, as well as how new policies that promote competition will likely serve as the best means for making the streaming marketplace fairer to consumers, view our blog post, “Streamlining Sports Streaming: Getting Just the Games You Want Shouldn’t Be This Hard.”
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.