FuboTV files antitrust lawsuit to block Disney, Fox, Warner sports streaming deal
Sports-focused streaming service FuboTV (FUBO.N), opens new tab has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Walt Disney (DIS.N), opens new tab, Fox (FOXA.O), opens new tab and Warner Bros Discovery (WBD.O), opens new tab over a planned sports streaming platform by the companies, Fubo said on Tuesday.
The launch of the joint venture “will destroy competition and inflate prices for consumers,” Fubo said in its statement.
Warner Bros Discovery, Fox as well as ESPN, which is part of Disney’s sports division, declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.
Earlier in February, Fox Corp, Disney’s ESPN and Warner Bros Discovery had disclosed plans to launch a sports streaming service later this autumn to capture younger viewers who are not tuned in to television.
The joint venture is aimed at creating a new service, combining the media companies’ broad portfolio of professional and collegiate sports rights, which span the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, FIFA World Cup and college competitions. The service, which is yet to be named, is expected to offer an all-in-one programming package that would include television channels, such as ESPN, TNT and FS1, as well as streamed sports content.
