Judge temporarily blocks launch of new streaming service

 August 17, 2024

If you were excited for the new joint streaming service from ESPN and Fox and Warner Bros., you're going to have to wait a little bit longer.

U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett has ruled that the immediate launch of Venu Sports would cause "irreparable harm" to streaming service Fubo and customers alike because of antitrust concerns.

Venu was set to offer streaming of channels ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SEC Network, ACC Network, ESPNEWS, ABC, FOX, FS1, FS2, Big Ten Network, TNT, TBS and truTV.

That's a pretty solid television lineup, and Venu was trying to force customers to use their service to access these channels by charging other streaming cable services, such as Fubo, absurdly high licensing fees so that Fubo would have to pass the upcharge onto customers and lose business.

Fubo launched a lawsuit as a result, and now a judge has decided that this lawsuit must be settled before Venu can officially launch.

Do you think Fubo or Venu will win this court case?