ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery are ending plans to form a joint sports streaming service.
Venu Sports — a proposed bundled streaming service of the offerings by ESPN, Fox Sports and TNT Sports — will be discontinued immediately, the three companies said in a joint statement Friday.
“In an ever-changing marketplace, we determined that it was best to meet the evolving demands of sports fans by focusing on existing products and distribution channels,” they said. “We are proud of the work that has been done on Venu to date and grateful to the Venu staff, whom we will support through this transition period.”
The three entities first announced plans for Venu Sports in February 2024. Its launch was temporarily blocked following a legal challenge by Fubo. Earlier this week, Disney and Fubo announced they were combining Disney’s Hulu + Live TV business with Fubo, which effectively settled the Fubo-led litigation.
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But the Fubo deal, plus a recent agreement between Disney and DirecTV to offer Disney’s streaming services in select packages, means those entities will be able to add “skinny bundles” in sports that will be Venu Sports-esque, according to a source briefed on the reasoning. The fact that DirecTV and Dish said they had interest in continuing the litigation that Fubo just ended also factored into shuttering Venu.
This is a developing story. More to come.
(Photo: Luke Hales / Getty Images)
