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In today’s big story, a new sports streamer hit a major snag. But the fallout could ultimately upend the way TV is packaged.
What’s on deck:
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The big story
A false start
A bid to launch a new sports streamer has opened a can of worms for the media industry.
Venu Sports, a joint venture between Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery, faced a major setback when a judge blocked its launch on the eve of football season’s kickoff. But the issue isn’t specific to Venu, as how media companies bundle services for customers could eventually be called into question, writes Business Insider’s James Faris.
Some background: Initial details of Venu turned plenty of heads in February. Sports are media companies’ crown jewels since they’re one of the few things people still watch live.
But there were also signs of potential roadblocks. BI’s Peter Kafka spoke to industry execs at the time who said sports leagues and pay-TV providers blindsided by the news might push back on the endeavor.
FuboTV, a virtual pay-TV provider, eventually filed a lawsuit, alleging Venu had an unfair advantage. Not unlike Venu, Fubo tried to launch a sports-specific streamer. But the media giants required it to include non-sports channels that ballooned the price to $80.
But when the media giants launched their sports streamer, the same rules didn’t apply. They didn’t force non-sports channels in, allowing them to keep the price to just $43.
Last week a judge granted Fubo a preliminary injunction, halting Venu’s launch. But if things escalate to a jury trial, the tried-and-true practice of creating forced bundles could eventually be called into question.
Venu’s delayed launch has some immediate impacts, but others will take time to develop.
While Venu’s plans haven’t been completely crushed, the significance of facing a delay on the cusp of America’s favorite sport’s season — football — can’t be overstated. College football starts Week 0 this Saturday while the NFL season opener is September 5, meaning fans will have figured out alternative streaming options long before Venu resolves its issues.
(Even if Venu got the green light, it’s still missing a ton of important sports, including NFL games on CBS and NBC, as Peter previously pointed out.)
But the broader implications on how television is, or isn’t, bundled will take a bit more time. The Venu-Fubo dispute will likely be a drawn-out legal fight. (The real winners are always the lawyers.)
The TV bundle has faced a ton of pressure in recent years. Bundling can also lead to some unique consequences, like Disney+ adding Hulu shows only for parents to freak out about their kids getting unintentionally exposed to more mature content, writes BI’s Katie Notopoulos.
But you don’t last this long as a business model without having some resiliency. And…dare I say…bundles aren’t that bad. I’m signed up to so many streaming services that cutting the cord was almost a wash from a financial perspective.
The end result could be media giants offering a concession that’ll keep bundles alive, like Charter and Disney’s arrangement last year, which Peter pointed out to me.
Fubo’s sports-focused bundle initially was geared toward soccer fans — a sport that’s not really the core of Venu’s offering — which potentially leaves room for some type of compromise.
News brief
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What’s happening today
The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Jordan Parker Erb, editor, in New York. Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Milan Sehmbi, fellow, in London. Amanda Yen, fellow, in New York.
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