Fubo continues to claim that Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) have structured their joint venture Venu Sports in a way that will destroy any potential competition.
In a 70-page document filed Monday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, Fubo outlined how Disney, Fox and WBD control “critical and unique live televised sports programming” that they license to U.S.-based distributors. Fubo also accused the trio of having a “built-in advantage,” saying they would consolidate their “rights to more than half of all U.S. live televised sports content,” thus blocking out any other competitors in the space.
“They further propose to give their JV the exclusive right to offer consumers the ability to subscribe to sports and only to sports programming – a coveted arrangement known as a ‘skinny sports bundle,’” the documents read. “No distributor can compete in the market for live pay television without the commercially critical sports content that defendants control and the JV would offer.”
The filing continued: “As a condition of licensing that content, defendants now force distributors to carry other, unwanted content. Under defendants’ anticompetitive agreement, the [joint venture] would become the only distributor able to carry their sports content without also carrying (and paying for) their other content. That exclusive access would give the JV a built-in advantage over every other distributor – a manufactured pathway to instant market dominance.”
As it closed out its latest argument, Fubo reiterated that Disney, Fox and WBD have structured the joint venture to avoid “anything like competition on merit.”
“Its artificial advantage will capture hundreds of thousands of subscribers and tens of millions of dollars from Fubo alone, driving Fubo into insolvency, and destroying or damaging other distributors. The foreseeable outcome for viewers will be higher prices and fewer choices,” the streamer added.
This is the latest development in the companies’ ongoing legal feud. U.S. District Court Judge Margaret Garnett, who granted Fubo a preliminary injunction last month that temporarily blocks Venu from launching, has set Oct. 6, 2025, as the trial date, in addition to other deadlines for motions for dismissal and the discovery process.
Fubo has accused the trio of engaging in a years-long campaign of anticompetitive practices to block its business, with Venu Sports being the latest example. The lawsuit also slammed the companies for forcing Fubo to carry dozens of expensive non-sports channels that its customers don’t want as a condition of licensing sports content. Lawmakers like Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Rep. Joaquin Castro and Rep. Jerry Nadler have also voiced their concerns over Venu to the Department of Justice.
Venu Sports, which is targeted at sports fans outside of the traditional TV bundle, is slated to launch at $42.99 per month, offering subscribers thousands of live sports from all the major leagues and top college conferences, with access to ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, ESPNEWS, ABC, FOX, FS1, FS2, BTN, TNT, TBS and truTV, as well as ESPN+.
Content would include live game and event coverage of the NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, WNBA, NCAA Division I football and basketball, U.S. and international soccer, combat sports, Grand Slam tennis, championship golf, INDYCAR, NASCAR, F1 auto racing and more. Subscribers would also have the option to bundle Venu with Disney+, Hulu or Max.
Lucas Manfredi contributed to this reporting.