DirecTV, Dish Network Raise Antitrust Concerns Over Venu Sports

MT Newswires
01-10
DISH.jpg -Shutterstock
Satellite television companies DirecTV and EchoStar's (SATS) Dish Network raised antitrust concerns about Venu Sports days after FuboTV (FUBO) settled its case against the proposed sports streaming platform and agreed to merge with Walt Disney (DIS).

In a letter filed with Federal Judge Margaret Garnett, who granted FuboTV an injunction against Venu Sports in August, DirecTV on Thursday said the settlement "does nothing to resolve the underlying antitrust violations at issue."

Instead, it restores an "anticompetitive runway" for ESPN, Fox (FOX, FOXA) and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) to "control the future of the live pay TV market," according to the letter. DirecTV is owned by AT&T (T) and TPG Capital.

DirecTV said it was joining EchoStar's request filed in a separate letter earlier this week that the federal court "preserve its legal and factual findings," given the public interest at stake. Dish said in its own letter filed Tuesday that it was "evaluating its options regarding the joint venture, its harm to competition, and the defendant's tying practices."

Both DirecTV and Dish filed declarations of support last summer in FuboTV's case against Venu Sports. On Monday, Disney announced that it was merging its Hulu + Live TV business with FuboTV in a deal that will give the media and entertainment giant a 70% stake in Fubo and settle the Venu Sports litigation.

Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. agreed to pay a total of $220 million to Fubo as part of the settlement, according to the joint statement from Disney and Fubo. Disney will also provide a $145 million term loan to Fubo in 2026.

Disney expects to enter into a new carriage agreement that enables Fubo to launch its own sports and broadcast service featuring Disney's sports broadcasting assets, including ABC and a variety of ESPN channels.

The three Venu Sports venture companies didn't immediately respond to requests for comment from MT Newswires. Earlier this week, a Fox spokesperson said the company planned to "move forward" with Venu Sports.













免责声明:投资有风险,本文并非投资建议,以上内容不应被视为任何金融产品的购买或出售要约、建议或邀请,作者或其他用户的任何相关讨论、评论或帖子也不应被视为此类内容。本文仅供一般参考,不考虑您的个人投资目标、财务状况或需求。TTM对信息的准确性和完整性不承担任何责任或保证,投资者应自行研究并在投资前寻求专业建议。

热议股票

  1. 1
     
     
     
     
  2. 2
     
     
     
     
  3. 3
     
     
     
     
  4. 4
     
     
     
     
  5. 5
     
     
     
     
  6. 6
     
     
     
     
  7. 7
     
     
     
     
  8. 8
     
     
     
     
  9. 9
     
     
     
     
  10. 10