Fubo’s lawsuit against Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery’s planned sports streaming service is running into its first major obstacle today as Disney filed a 43-page request for its lawsuit to be dismissed this week. This comes as earlier this week Fubo asked the judge to block the streaming service from launching this fall.
In the lawsuit Fubo, the live streaming service alleges that the trio of media giants stole from its playbook in a new attempt to thwart Fubo’s business.
Prior to the lawsuit, Fubo said the news of the streaming service was concerning and said it could harm competition.
“The underlying motives and implication of this joint venture also command our scrutiny. Every consumer in America should be concerned about the intent behind this joint venture and its impact on fair market competition,” Fubo said in an earlier statement.
Disney is arguing in their case to the judge that these new streaming services will bring more options than ever to Americans in terms of how to watch these channels.
Live sports content is in high demand these days and the competition between streaming platforms to provide it is heating up. While a popular service, Fubo and other streamers would be dwarfed by the powerful union of Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery.
“Fubo has leaned into sports programming to differentiate itself from other virtual multichannel services such as YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV, so it’s no huge surprise to see the company turn to legal action to try to block the proposed streaming sports bundle from Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery,” Shafer said.
Fubo isn’t the only one to take issue with the new service. NFL executives are having their lawyers comb their contracts with ESPN and Fox to potentially halt the endeavor. The Department of Justice could also present regulator roadblocks for the joint venture.
Earlier this month, Walt Disney’s ESPN, FOX, and Warner Bros. Discovery announced they were creating a streaming service that would bundle all three companies’ sports content. So far, the standalone app is set to launch in the fall. Details like pricing have yet to be revealed.
Now the question is who will win this early fight. Will the Judge dismiss the case, or will Fubo get an injunction to block the service from launching? Though the judge could take a 3rd path and decline both companies push and let the case and the streaming service move forward.
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