The streaming service Venu Sports, which was supposed to combine the live offerings of The Walt Disney Co.'s (DIS) ESPN, FOX (FOX), and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), has been called off before it could launch.
"After careful consideration, we have collectively agreed to discontinue the Venu Sports joint venture and not launch the streaming service," the 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."
The announcement comes just days after Disney and FuboTV (FUBO) said they would resolve one of the legal challenges against Venu Sports by merging streaming competitor Fubo—which had sued to block the service's launch—with Disney's Hulu + Live TV offering. Disney will own 70% of Fubo, which settled all litigation against the entertainment giant, FOX, and Warner Bros. Discovery, and will receive $220 million in cash from them.
A judge previously had ruled that FuboTV would likely win its suit against Venu Sports and delayed the service's launch, agreeing that the new service would likely lessen competition in the industry. After the Disney-Fubo announcement, DirecTV and Dish parent EchoStar (SATS) filed letters with the judge requesting the preliminary injunction blocking the launch not be lifted.
Warner Bros. Discovery shares fell 5% Friday morning, while those of FOX and Disney were down about 2% and 1.5%, respectively. FuboTV was up 3.3%.
免責聲明:投資有風險,本文並非投資建議,以上內容不應被視為任何金融產品的購買或出售要約、建議或邀請,作者或其他用戶的任何相關討論、評論或帖子也不應被視為此類內容。本文僅供一般參考,不考慮您的個人投資目標、財務狀況或需求。TTM對信息的準確性和完整性不承擔任何責任或保證,投資者應自行研究並在投資前尋求專業建議。