Fubo files suit against Disney, Fox and WBD over planned US sport streamer

Sports-themed streaming brand, Fubo, has filed an antitrust lawsuit against The Walt Disney Company, Fox, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), following its plans to form a joint US sport streaming giant, alleging that the joint project will destroy competition and inflate prices for consumers.

Fubo claimed the Disney, Fox and WBD have engaged in a long-running pattern of stymying Fubo’s sports-first streaming service by engaging in anti-competitive practices. The streamer described the trio as the “sports cartel” which has “leveraged their iron grip on sports content to extract billions of dollars in supra-competitive profits”, creating an unfair competitive market.

In the lawsuit, Fubo highlighted tactics by its rivals such as “unfair bundling” and charging higher licensing rates which has created a financial burden for the streaming service.

It comes following earlier comments made by Fubo which it shared its concern about the planned streamer.

Pay TV operators who carry the three partners’ programming have also expressed concern privately, according to a report by CNBC.

The yet to be named sports platform was announced earlier this month and is scheduled to debut in the autumn.It will host a range content from major sport leagues and competitions, including NFL, NBA, WNBA, MLB, NHL, PGA Tour, PGA Championship, The Masters, Wimbledon, US Open, Australian Open, UFC, Formula 1, Nascar, FIFA World Cup, LaLiga and Bundesliga. It will also provide users access to linear sports channels such as TNT Sports, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, ABC, FOX, FS1, FS2, truTV and ESPN+.

According to recent reports, the planned US sport streamer is set to be investigated by the US Department of Justice with concerns that it could negatively impact consumers, sports leagues and rivals.

David Gandler, co-founder and CEO, Fubo, said: “By joining together to exclusively reserve the rights to distribute a specialised live sports package, we believe these corporations are erecting insurmountable barriers that will effectively block any new competitors from entering the market. This strategy ensures that consumers desiring a dedicated sports channel lineup are left with no alternative but to subscribe to the Defendants’ joint venture.”

“We have previously collaborated with each of these companies so that we could offer ‘must-have’ sports content to Fubo customers,” he added.”For many years, they have challenged our business at every opportunity through pernicious practices. While other new competitors were prevented from entering the market, Fubo has continuously fought back. The Defendants’ unconscionable practices have impacted our ability to grow and have deprived consumers of a compelling and competitively-priced product.