Disney, Fox and Warner Bros Discovery File to Appeal Venu Sports Antitrust Injunction

As expected Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery have jointly filed to appeal the Aug. 16 ruling blocking the launch of Venu Sports on antitrust grounds.

The companies filed the appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Monday.

In a ruling on Friday, U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett granted a preliminary injunction against Venu sought by Fubo, determining that it is “likely to succeed in demonstrating that the JV will substantially lessen competition or tend to create a monopoly in contravention of this country’s antitrust laws.”

“If the JV launches, witness testimony and documentary evidence firmly establish that a swift exodus of large numbers of Fubo’s subscribers (both current and reasonably anticipated near-term future subscribers) is likely, and that Fubo’s bankruptcy and delisting of the company’s stock will likely soon follow,” Garnett wrote in her decision. “These are quintessential harms that money cannot adequately repair.”

Venu Sports, a joint offering from Fox, Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery, was initially set to launch this fall for $42.99 per month.

Fox, Disney and WBD were set to each own a 1/3 stake, have equal board representation and license their sports content on a non-exclusive basis. Rather than split revenue equally, the companies would earn a carriage fee similarto other distribution channels such as cable. Each company would be responsible for selling their own advertising and retain ad revenue.

Fubo filed an antitrust lawsuit in February, describing it as an example of what it called a years-long campaign of anticompetitive practices by the studios to block its business. The complaint also criticized 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.

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