The legal challenges continue for the Venu Sports partners, long after the project was abandoned.
The US Department of Justice has launched a formal investigation into the merger between Disney and distributor Fubo, according to Eriq Gardner of Puck. Disney and Fubo have already begun responding to information requests from investigators.
The merger between Disney and Fubo was an unexpected outcome of the antitrust lawsuit Fubo launched against Venu Sports, the planned joint venture between ESPN, Fox, and TNT Sports. After targeting an August 2024 launch, the project was stalled by Fubo’s lawsuit and an injunction granted by a federal judge blocking its launch.
The announcement of the merger in January seemed to clear the way for Venu’s launch, only for reports to emerge that other distributors — namely Dish and DirecTV — were planning their own legal challenges to Venu. A few days later, the joint venture was scrapped. ESPN and Fox pivoted to focusing on their own direct-to-consumer products for a Fall 2025 launch.
Venu attracted its own political attention, including from members of Congress, who suggested the DOJ investigate the project.
While the joint venture was abandoned, the merger was not. Disney plans to eventually combine the acquired Fubo with their own virtual cable bundle product: Hulu+Live TV. Now that merger appears to be in question as with the DOJ’s investigation.
The investigation comes amidst an aggressive campaign by the executive branch against major media outlets, but it should be noted that scrutiny of the Disney-Fubo deal has been bipartisan in nature.
