According to the latest court report, Venu Sports, the upcoming sports service from Fox, Disney, and Warner Bros. Discovery, is set to kill itself after nine years. No one has asked affiliates to set an expiration date on a service they haven’t even started, and doing so is not standard business practice, so why? if you lose the competition before entering the game?
There seem to be two things going on here. One is that Venu is currently trying to survive the command call on that others sports streaming service, Fubo. Policy: Venu’s joint venture is not intended to bully Fubo out of recognition or harm cable customers, so there is no antitrust violation. Disney’s court filing from July 25, 2024, obtained by IndieWire, reads (in part, and with our emphasis):
Venu is organized to maintain and protect competition among its members. Each JV member will continue to negotiate individually with the league to obtain game rights; Venu will not get the rights of the games itself. Each member will continue to individually negotiate vehicle agreements for its network with Venu and other vendors; Venu will not own exclusive content, has no control over how its members grant permission to others, and has no right to license its content to MVPDs. the rest. Firewalls prevent the sharing of sensitive competitive information. Venu is limited, for a period of nine years. Fubo does not indicate at all where a joint venture with characteristics such as these has been ordered to violate antitrust laws.
The fact that Venu has “only” appears to be Disney and Fox explaining their statistics (to borrow another sports word) about how Fubo’s antitrust lawsuit has no direct comparison, it specific and enforceable that the court may take. The parties are still fighting in court as we write this.
According to the lawyer who is not involved – Bryan Sullivan, partner of Early Sullivan Wright Gizer & McRae – the limited factor “is not enough” to prove that there is no negative impact on the market and competition. There is nothing forcing Venu to stick to that nine-year expiration date, even in their current agreement.
“The argument that it’s limited is evidence that it doesn’t have a negative effect on competition in the market, but the argument is that it can be extended or renewed or renegotiated,” Sullivan told IndieWire. “Speaking in the petition that the contract is limited and pointing out that language about ending the agreement is true, but it does not oblige them not to change, modify, extend or raise the agreement with a new agreement.”
A spokesperson for Fubo declined IndieWire’s request for comment for this story.
Another reason why Venu companies have promised to kill themselves in nine years? For us, it is doubtful that 2033 brings about the termination of Venu Sports and the expiration of the current NFL media rights agreement. Worth $110 billion, the 2021 deal spreads sports across Amazon Prime Video, CBS (and Paramount+), ESPN (and ESPN+, and ABC), Fox, NBC (and Peacock), NFL Network, Netflix, and YouTube.
If you think those NFL TV and streaming rights are expensive now — and they certainly are — just wait until 2033. Venu Sports didn’t even exist as an idea during the negotiations for first. If that were the case, the NFL probably would have demanded more money from Disney and Fox (WBD doesn’t have NFL games). Next time, the league will not be surprised.
An NFL spokesperson did not immediately respond to our request for comment on this story (and our theory). A spokesperson for Venu Sports referred us to partner companies: Fox did not comment, and spokespeople for Disney/ESPN and WBD Sports did not immediately respond to our emails.
When the NFL runs the show, it’s not the only game in town — it’s the headliner. The NCAA’s current media rights deal expires in 2032, Major League Baseball expires in 2028 and 2029, depending on the platform, and the NHL’s deal expires a year or two earlier.
Without a clear end date for Venu, pre-2033 negotiations with the NFL could be difficult. Speculation: If Fox or Disney lose their NFL rights, is Venu’s continuation possible? Can two out of three companies drive out the third? Do Fox and Disney want to do that now on WBD without the NBA?
Or,· Again NFL games? Would that party want to leave the group to unlock more value in its broadcasting service?
Speaking of, Fox, you might want to get one of those.
Venu Sports is set to launch this fall at a price of $42.99 per month.
Additional reporting by Brian Welk
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