Yesterday Fubo had its day in court as it tries to stop the live TV streaming service Venu Sports from launching. During that hearing Fubo’s CEO David Gandler says Fubo could lose 30% of its subscribers if the service is allowed to launch.
Fubo is suing Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. over their planned new streaming service. Fubo, the live streaming service, is suing to block the joint venture and alleges in a lawsuit that three media giants stole from the Fubo playbook: This new venture is the latest attempt in a years-long campaign to block Fubo’s business.
Fubo is asking the court to block the launch pending the lawsuit. Both sides had their arguments yesterday and now we wait for the judge to rule on the case.
In a statement about the lawsuit, Fubo said, “We continue to believe in the merits of our lawsuit, and thank those who have publicly supported us, such as DIRECTV and DISH. We remain steadfast in our fight to level the playing field of the sports streaming industry since, as alleged in our court filings, we believe the launch of the joint venture (a collaboration to introduce a sports-only streaming service) controlled by these parties could cause irreparable harm to Fubo and to consumers. A win for Fubo is a big win for consumers, and we are encouraged by the Court’s recent decision to grant limited discovery and set an August 7, 2024, hearing date for our preliminary injunction motion, as well as the Court’s indication that it intends to render a decision before the launch date of the JV. We are further encouraged by reports of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) ongoing investigation and congressional inquiries into the joint venture. We believe customers deserve choice, fair pricing and innovative products, and this is only possible in a competitive streaming marketplace. Given the many unknowns related to the potential launch of the joint venture, including the outcome of the lawsuit and the DOJ’s reported investigation, our guidance 1 and our planned path to profitability do not reflect any potential impact of the joint venture launch to our business.”
Now we will have to wait and see what happens.