While streaming company Fubo is going after the sports streaming joint venture between ESPN, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery, the troika seems to be getting some perhaps unintentional public support from an unexpected source: Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish.
Speaking on Paramount’s fourth-quarter earnings call on Wednesday, Bakish noted that the joint venture “only has a subset of sports” and also said it’s “hard to believe that’s ideal.”
So starting with the sports topic, look, start with the fact that there’s still a lot we don’t know about this service, things like price, packaging, consumer appetite. And to the consumer point, for a true sports fan, this product only has a subset of sports. It’s missing half the NFL, a lot of college, has virtually no soccer or golf, etcetera. So look, that’s hard to believe that’s ideal, especially at the price points that have been speculated.
The joint venture, which still hasn’t launched and is missing plenty of details (something Bakish also noted in his comments), has been criticized by some in the industry. Fubo sued the three companies last week, claiming what they called a “sports cartel” has “challenged our business at every opportunity through pernicious practices.”
Bakish’s comments, which come from a direct competitor to the three companies, almost seem to be a point in favor of the joint venture. Paramount was left out in the cold on this streaming service, and Bakish is criticizing it for not having *enough* sports.
Experts seem skeptical about an antitrust challenge toward the joint venture, and Bakish seemingly saying it’s not comprehensive enough might close off arguments from fellow media companies. That should be a big point in favor of the troika when (or if) it comes before the courts.
