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FuboTV has received a big dose of good news—on multiple levels—with the preliminary injunction against Venu Sports. Now the question is how long the company’s financial and legal boosts will last.
A federal judge granted FuboTV’s sought-after injunction blocking the planned Aug. 23 debut of Venu Sports, the high-profile streaming alliance involving Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery. The somewhat shocking ruling, arriving late Friday, nearly six months after the company initially filed the antitrust lawsuit, immediately sent FuboTV’s stock up by nearly 17%, with shares closing at $1.53 each. After-hours trading Friday brought 12% of further lift, suggesting more growth to come once the New York Stock Exchange reopens Monday morning.
The market activity marked a big turnaround for a stock that has lost more than half its value this calendar year, and for a company that, despite ongoing growth in revenue and paid subscribers, remains unprofitable. Most recently, FuboTV reported 1.45 million paid subscribers in North America, up by 24% compared to 2023’s second quarter, but still posted a net loss of $25.8 million.
FuboTV has argued that Venu Sports, even before it was formally named, has engaged in “extreme suppression of competition in the U.S. sports-focused streaming market,” to the detriment of consumers through higher prices.
“A fair and competitive marketplace is necessary to provide consumers with multiple, robust, and more affordable streaming options,” FuboTV co-founder and CEO David Gandler said in a statement. “We will continue to fight for fairness and for what’s best for consumers.”
Just Getting Started
The preliminary injunction, however, is just that and will soon be contested by Venu Sports’ three participants.
“We respectfully disagree with the court’s ruling and are appealing it,” Disney, Fox, and WBD said in a joint statement. “We believe that Fubo’s arguments are wrong on the facts and the law, and that Fubo has failed to prove it is legally entitled to a preliminary injunction.”
The three media giants are expected to seek emergency relief, particularly as a WBD lawyer argued last week that “a preliminary injunction would terminate the joint venture.” FuboTV, conversely, said that the lack of one would doom its business.
FuboTV, however, has already received further support from DirecTV, which is similarly concerned about the potential for an uneven playing field in the multichannel video business as a result of Venu Sports’ arrival. The satellite carrier, along with Dish Network and Newsmax, was also a signatory to a letter FuboTV sent in May to several key U.S. Senate committees looking for Congressional hearings on the development of Venu Sports.
“We are pleased with the court decision and believe that it appropriately recognizes the potential harms of allowing major programmers to license their content to an affiliate distributor on more favorable terms than they license their content to third parties,” DirecTV said in a statement.
