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The Walt Disney Co., Warner Bros. Discovery, and Fox Sports plan to launch their sports streaming app Venu by the end of this month, a reliable source close to the joint venture tells Front Office Sports.
That is earlier than previous reports of this fall, though it would make sense given the start of the NFL regular season Sept. 5, typically a big boon for over-the-top platform sign-ups. The three companies first announced plans for their joint venture back in February.
The target launch approaches even as a federal judge prepares to decide whether to block the launch at the behest of digital pay TV distributor FuboTV, which is suing the triumvirate over Venu.
Since Tuesday, federal court Judge Margaret Garnett has presided over four days of testy hearings over Fubo’s motion for a preliminary injunction. Fubo contends Venu is anticompetitive and violates antitrust law because the three giants are licensing just their sports channels to Venu, which they won’t do for other pay-TV distributors. Fubo seeks the right to license only the sports channels from those giants. Venu, which will cost $42.99 per month, will boast 14 sports-related channels.
Over four days, the judge has heard from 18 witnesses, and the testimony has revealed a raft of figures that hadn’t previously been made public. This includes the fact that the three partners in Venu each invested $400 million, each committed to spending $15 million on marketing in Venu’s first year, and all agreed to a noncompete for Venu’s first three years that prevents them from making similar pacts with other media companies.
On Monday, each side will get 90 minutes for closing arguments. Post-hearing briefs are due later that day, which signals Judge Garnett will not rule from the bench.
The defendants have communicated their end-of-August timeline to Judge Garnett, the source said, who added that does not necessarily mean Garnett will rule by Aug. 31.
Garnett advised the parties to come ready to present precedential court cases Monday. That is a signal she might be moved by strong legal arguments.
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