Advertisements for Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery Channel and Fox-owned sports streaming company Venu Sports hang at the Fanatics Fest event in New York City on August 16, 2024.
Jessica Golden | CNBC
disney, fox and Warner Bros. Discovery The two companies said in a joint statement on Friday that they had scrapped plans to launch sports streaming service Venu.
“After careful consideration, we have collectively agreed to terminate the Venu Sports joint venture and no longer launch a streaming service,” they said in a statement. “In an ever-changing market, we believe the best approach is to focus on our existing products and distribution channels to meet the evolving needs of sports fans. We are proud of the work Venu has done to date and are grateful that we will support them during this transition period.”
Venus is First announced in February It also plans to merge the live sports properties of Fox, WBD and Disney-owned ESPN. The platform was initially set to launch in September before the start of the NFL season, but was delayed by a legal challenge from streamer Fubo, which claimed the platform was anti-competitive.
That lawsuit was Resolved earlier this week Part of a deal between Disney and Fubo, the deal combines the media giant’s Hulu+ Live TV with Fubo’s Internet TV bundle.
Fubo shares rose about 5% in premarket trading Friday. Shares of Disney soared 250% on Monday after the deal was announced.
—CNBC’s Lillian Rizzo contributed to this report.
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