Disney, Fox, and WBD say they have agreed to discontinue their Venu Sports streaming joint venture and will focus on existing products and distribution channels

The sports-focused streaming service will not move forward, the companies said Friday. — Venu is dead.

The Hollywood Reporter 2025-01-10 Alex Weprin

Context & Ripple Effects

Venu was conceived as a jointly owned U.S. sports streaming offering, then given a name and planned fall debut before the partners set an initial $42.99 monthly price. The project represented an attempt to package programming from three major media groups into one product.

Its cancellation follows reporting that the partners sought to avoid an extended lawsuit that could put broader bundling at risk, shifting the decision from launch execution to distribution-risk management. The companies now point viewers and strategy back toward products and channels they already operate.

First-order effects

Disney, Fox, and WBD will not launch Venu Sports, ending the shared product, its planned subscription offer, and the joint venture’s standalone distribution path.
The companies will concentrate sports distribution through their existing products and channels rather than a new three-party service.

Second-order effects

The decision preserves the partners’ ability to pursue sports packaging through their own services and distribution relationships, instead of making Venu the common consumer entry point.
The reported concern over bundling litigation makes legal and distribution risk a more immediate constraint on future cross-company streaming packages than Venu’s proposed price or launch plan.

Third-order effects

If this pattern persists, sports streaming aggregation may move toward bundles assembled through existing platforms and distributors rather than jointly owned, all-in-one services from competing rights holders.
The episode suggests that the viability of media-streaming partnerships will increasingly depend on whether their distribution design can withstand legal scrutiny, not only on their content mix.

The trend: Sports media companies are pursuing streaming aggregation while adapting product design and distribution plans to the legal limits around bundling.

Discussion

@chriswelch Chris Welch on threads
So the end result of all this is just... less competition? Now that Fubo and Hulu with Live TV have merged? Cool. Cool cool cool. Streaming TV prices are gonna get truly outrageous in 2025.
@xpangler Todd Spangler on x
Before it could open, Venu is closed. Read about why Disney, Fox & Warner Bros. Discovery are ceasing their sports streaming joint venture https://variety.com/... via @variety
@alexweprin Alex Weprin on x
Just in: Venu, the sports streaming service, is dead. Disney, WBD and Fox are pulling the plug.
@pkafka Peter Kafka on x
Last week the JV settled a legal fight with Fubo that they thought would let them launch. But DirecTV and Dish were threatening their own suits, so...
@jacobfeldman4 @jacobfeldman4 on x
RIP Venu Sports [image]
@novy_williams Eben Novy-Williams on x
BREAKING: Venu Sports, the product joint launched by ESPN, Fox and WBD, will be “discontinued”. [image]
@matthewstoller Matt Stoller on x
The mega sports streaming joint venture is dead. Disney/Fox/Warner Bros have pulled the plug on Venu, Disney's purchase of Fubo has a better rationale now. [image]
@espnpr @espnpr on x
Venu Sports, the proposed virtual MVPD service from ESPN, FOX & Warner Bros. Discovery, will be discontinued The collective decision by the three companies not to move forward with the contemplated joint venture is effective immediately More: https://espnpressroom.com/... [image]
@sherman4949 Alex Sherman on x
Wow! A bit of a stunner given the recent Fubo news .... Venu will NOT launch. ESPN, WBD and Fox just released a statement saying it has decided not to launch the JV given “the evolving demands of sports fans by focusing on existing products and distribution channels.”
@sherman4949 Alex Sherman on x
This is a major bummer for everyone who had been hired by Venu, which has continued to hire even through the Fubo temporary injunction. Several I spoke with were extremely happy earlier this week after the Fubo merger. This is a shocking reversal. https://www.cnbc.com/...
@pkafka Peter Kafka on x
New from me: Venu is dead, killed by the threat of more antitrust suits. Likely to replace it: A new sports skinny bundle, sold by Fubo, which will included Disney/ESPN and likely Fox sports as well. https://www.businessinsider.com/ ...
@ourand_puck John Ourand on x
Shocker
@pkafka Peter Kafka on x
Quick take from an interested party: “the undisputed winner is Fubo.”
@sherman4949 Alex Sherman on x
What happened with Venu? I thought it was gonna launch after that Fubo deal this week! Sources tell me the lawsuits filed by Dish and DTV that threatened to keep the Fubo lawsuit going played a big role in dooming the service. Story below: https://www.cnbc.com/...

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