There is FuboTV, a streaming platform dedicated to live sports filed an antitrust lawsuit Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Against Discovery, it accused the companies of waging a “year-long campaign” to disrupt its business. The company’s claim was briefly followed by Disney-owned ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Revealed by Discovery. launches a sports streaming service In the fall of 2024, it will give subscribers access to sports events from the networks they own. FuboTV’s complaint alleged that the companies were stealing its playbook and that launching their joint venture would destroy competition and cause price inflation for consumers.
In addition, FuboTV alleged that the launch of the defendants’ streaming service was “the latest coordinated step” in their “campaign to eliminate competition in the sports-first streaming market” and efforts to block its business. The streaming service said the defendants demanded content licensing rates that were 30 to 50 percent higher than those charged by other distributors. They allegedly force FuboTV to bundle dozens of expensive non-sports channels that “customers don’t want” with their sports offerings as a condition of licensing their content. All of this increases the costs that FuboTV has to pass on to its customers, the company explains.
FuboTV also alleged that the companies in question prevented it from offering streaming products to its subscribers, including content available on Hulu. Moreover, the defendants allege that they imposed a limit on how many subscribers could purchase the content package, ensuring that FuboTV could not take a hit in the market.
“Each of these companies has consistently engaged in anti-competitive practices aimed at monopolizing the market, stifling competition in any form, creating higher prices for subscribers and depriving consumers of a decent choice,” said FuboTV CEO David Gandler. “By combining to exclusively retain the rights to distribute a specialized live sports package, we believe that these corporations are creating insurmountable barriers that effectively prevent any new competitors from entering the market. This strategy will result in the abandonment of consumers who desire a dedicated sports channel lineup. Defendants’ joint venture with no alternative but to subscribe.
Engadget contacted all three defendants: ESPN declined to comment, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery has not yet contacted us. FuboTV is asking the court to prohibit the launch of the joint venture or impose restrictions on the defendants, such as economic parity of license terms.
