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What you need to know
- Venu Sports, the streaming service combining the services of The Walt Disney Co.'s ESPN, Warner Bros. Discovery and FOX were called off Friday before they could be launched.
- The companies said in a joint statement they felt they should be "focusing on existing products and distribution channels."
- Disney recently announced that Fubo would be combined with its Hulu + Live TV offering, resolving one legal challenge to the sports streamer.
Venu Sports, a new streaming service, was set to bring together the live broadcasts of The Walt Disney Co.’s (DIS) ESPN and FOX, as well as Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) was cancelled before its launch.
"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 Friday. "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."
The announcement comes just days after Disney and FuboTV (FUBO) said they would resolve one of the legal challenges against Venu Sports by merging streaming competitor Fubo—which had sued to block the service’s launch—with Disney’s Hulu + Live TV offering. Disney owns 70% of Fubo. The company settled its litigation with FOX and Warner Bros. Discovery and they will receive cash of $220 millions.
A previous judge had agreed that the launch of the new service was likely to reduce competition within the industry. DirectTV, Dish’s parent company EchoStar (SATS), and Dish-owned Fubo filed letters requesting that the preliminary order blocking the service launch remain in place.
Warner Bros. Discovery’s shares dropped 5% on Friday morning. FOX, Disney, and Disney-owned FOX were also down about 2% each. FuboTV grew by 3.3%.
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