Venu is dead.
The sports-focused streaming service co-founded by The Walt Disney Co, Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox Corp. will not move forward, the companies said Friday.
“After careful consideration, we have collectively agreed to discontinue the Venu Sports joint venture and not launch the streaming service,” the companies said in a joint statement. “In an ever-changing marketplace, we determined that it was best to meet the evolving demands of sports fans by focusing on existing products and distribution channels. We are proud of the work that has been done on Venu to date and grateful to the Venu staff, whom we will support through this transition period.”
The decision to discontinue Venu comes at the end of an eventful week for the companies, with dealmaking looking to revive the service’s fortunes, before a fresh legal threat appeared to put it in limbo once more.
On Monday, in a shock move, Disney announced a deal to merge its Hulu + Live TV service with competitor Fubo. The combined venture would be the second-biggest streaming MVPD after YouTube TV, and would be run by Fubo’s executive team, even with Disney maintaining majority ownership. In connection with the deal, Fubo agreed to end its antitrust case against Venu.
A couple of days later, the two major satellite TV firms DirecTV and Echostar argued that the court should reconsider any request to lift an in junction previously issued in the case, suggesting that they may take action.
Disney, Fox and WBD announced their plan to launch a joint streaming service nearly a year ago. The service would be structured like other vMVPDs (like say YouTube TV or Fubo), but with a dramatically smaller lineup of channels. Fox, for example, would provide the Fox broadcast networks and FS1, but not Fox News, while Disney would provide ABC and the ESPN networks but not FX or Disney Channel.
Fubo sued shortly after the announcement, arguing that Venu violated antitrust rules. Fubo, after all, considered itself a sports-focused streaming service, but was unable to cut a deal with the companies to offer the ame limited set of channels they were giving to their own platform.
The service subsequently named former Apple executive Pete Distad as its CEO, and got a name: Venu Sports. It also set a fall launch with a price tag of $42.99 per month.
It never launched, however, with U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett issuing an injunction to stop plans pending the trial.
Venu was planning to be really be focused on sports, and would deemphasize the role of “channels” or “networks” in its user interface.
Venu may be dead, but it will have a lasting impact. In addition to the Fubo-Hulu deal (pending regulatory approval), Disney has agreed to offer more flexible tiers with some pay-TV partners, potentially opening the door to true sports-focused vMVPDs or MVPD options.
And ESPN is still set to launch is ESPN “flagship” service later this year, with many in the industry wondering if the company could cut deals with competitors, like, say, Fox, to bring their sports to its platform.
