A new streaming platform is gaining scrutiny from Congress. The Hollywood Reporter details that letter from two Democratic representatives was issued to the CEOs of Fox, Disney, and Warner Bros. Discovery regarding the three companies’ plans for a joint sports streaming service. Plans for the currently unnamed venture were announced in February.
Reps. Jerrold Nadler of New York and Joaquin Castro of Texas issued the letter today, with queries about the proposed platform’s pricing and how distribution and rights will be handled, via The Hollywood Reporter.
“The Joint Venture raises questions about how this new offering would affect access, competition, and choice in the sports streaming market,” the joint letter read according to The Hollywood Reporter. “Without more complete information about the pricing, intent, and organization of this new venture, we are concerned that this consolidation will result in higher prices for consumers and less fair licensing terms for upstream sports leagues and downstream video distributors.”
Still in its early stages, the platform is slated to have programming from the respective company’s networks: ESPN, Fox, TBS, and TNT, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Missing, however, are multi-channels from other carriers and services. This isn’t the first flag on the play for the service. FuboTV filed $1 billion antitrust lawsuit seeking to block the venture. In their suit, Fubo states the other platforms have (an) “iron grip on sports content to extract billions of dollars in supra-competitive profits.”
“Every consumer in America should be concerned about the intent behind this joint venture and its impact on fair market competition,” Fubo said. ‘This joint venture spotlights a concerning trend where an alliance with significant market share, reportedly controlling 60-85% of all sports content, could dictate market terms in a manner that may not serve the broader interests of consumers.” The day after the joint venture was announced, Fubo’s stock fell 25 percent.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Nadler and Castro expect a response from Disney’s Bob Iger, Fox’s Lachlan Murdoch, and Warner Bros. Discovery’s David Zaslav by April 30. They’ve also requested the Department of Justice be copied in the CEO’s statement.
View the representatives’ complete letter here.