After months of waiting, Venu Sports may finally be headed toward launch.
This week, Disney and Fubo announced a settlement by which Disney’s Hulu + Live TV service merge with the multichannel video programming distributor. That agreement, which effectively saw Disney acquire Fubo (and a separate one between Fox and Fubo) lifted an injunction against the launch of Venu Sports, a collaboration between ESPN, Fox Sports and TNT Sports. The three companies will pay Fubo $220 million combined to move forward.
Now, Mollie Callihane of Sports Business Journal reports that “Venu will be announcing a launch date imminently, well ahead of ESPN’s planned debut of its DTC service ‘Flagship’ in the fall.”
Callihane added that “there’s speculation Venu hopes to debut in time for the Super Bowl” on Feb. 9.
Venu has reportedly been developing its tech product and hiring staff while a judge held up its launch with the injunction.
ESPN will launch its “Flagship” subscription product next fall, giving it now three streaming products. Venu, “Flagship” and the partnership with Fubo will all roll out over the course of 2025.
Venu previously announced it will cost $42.99 per month. Subscribers will get all of the sports programming from ESPN, Fox and TNT Sports — which includes the full NBA package for the remainder of the season, the full MLB postseason, and daily studio shows like First Take and The Herd.
The original Fubo lawsuit alleged that Venu and its owners engaged in non-competitive practices in setting its price and carriage rates. Whereas in negotiations with MVPDs like Fubo or cable companies, Disney and Fox “synthetically inflate prices” for carriers and their customers according to Fubo CEO David Gandler, those companies and TNT Sports allegedly colluded to deflate pricing for Venu.
Rather than go to trial, Disney bought out its antagonist. Now, the allegedly anticompetitive product at the heart of the lawsuit will reportedly move forward unscathed — just in time for Fox’s broadcast of Super Bowl LIX.
