Warner. Bros., Fox, and ESPN are benching Venu permanently. The combined, sports-based megaplayer was initially announced early last year, but got injured in an antitrust suit from live TV provider and competitor Fubo before it ever got the chance to play. It seemed for a minute like the field had been cleared for its return earlier this week, when Fubo and Hulu + Live TV (which, like ESPN, is owned by Disney) announced that they would be merging their services, ending the dispute between the two companies. But alas, Venu has been officially cut from the team.
“After careful consideration, we have jointly agreed to discontinue the Venu Sports joint venture and not launch the streaming service,” the corporations said in a joint statement, via Deadline. “In an ever-converting market, we decided it was more productive to meet the conversion demands of sports enthusiasts by focusing on existing products and distribution channels. We are proud of the paintings that have been completed at Venu to date and grateful to the staff at Venu, who we will assist in this transitional period.
It sounds like there was some drama behind the scenes. While Deadline reports that the three partners ultimately agreed on the surprising decision, they were apparently “not all equally energetic in pushing that outcome with Disney the movant.” Maybe the Fubo bundle was a better deal. The trade also specifies that other players weren’t too happy about the dismissal of Fubo’s suit against the venture, and could have picked up the legal fight in its wake. Yesterday, DirecTV and Dish reportedly both challenged the dismissal decision in a letter to the judge on the case, writing that the Disney/Fubo merger doesn’t resolve any of the original antitrust concerns against Venu. All in all, there’s less risk to all three companies in just killing the thing off.
I feel sorry for everyone ahead of all those sports channels combined, but the streaming landscape continues to shrink anyway, so there will probably be a similar edition soon under a new call. (You can watch at least one football day a year on Netflix, thanks to its new partnership with the NFL. )In the meantime, may Venu rest in peace; We knew you a little bit.
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