Sports streamer Venu launch in doubt as Fubo antitrust trial date set for October 2025

Venu is joint-venture US sports streamer from Disney, Warner Bros Discovery and Fox

Venu, the planned joint-venture US sports streamer from Disney, Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) and Fox, faces an uncertain future after its motion to have Fubo TV’s lawsuit against it was denied.

Venu Sports had requested to dismiss fellow sports streamer Fubo’s antitrust lawsuit against the streaming service, which was filed earlier this year and led to a preliminary injunction that delayed Venu’s planned launch ahead of the start of the NFL regular season on September 5.

However, a federal judge has refused to dismiss the lawsuit and Disney, WBD and Fox will now face a trial next year, starting on October 6 in a New York City courtroom.

Fubo has alleged the launch of Venu raises antitrust concerns, will limit competition and inflate prices for consumers and that the three companies have “engaged in a long-running pattern of stymieing Fubo’s sports-first streaming service by engaging in anti-competitive practices.”

The latest ruling casts doubt over the future of Venu, which was set to bring WBD, Fox and Disney-owned ESPN’s US sports rights under one service and was unveiled in February.

Priced at US$42.99 a month, the bundle of rights captures at least 60% of all the major live sports rights available in the US. Fox Corp CEO Lachlan Murdoch previously said the service is aiming to attract around five million subscribers over five years.