According to the Hollywood Reporter, FuboTV is bringing an antitrust lawsuit against Fox Corp., Walt Disney Co. and Warner Bros. Discovery over their proposed sports streaming platform. Fubo’s complaint states the streamer is being forced to carry additional non-sports channels in order to get licensing sports rights from the merging companies new platform.
The proposed platform was promised to offer live events on channels like ABC, ESPN, Fox, TBS and TNT to all be under the same platform individually and in bundle deals (ESPN+, Hulu, Max).
Fubo states the new platform would stifle competition and hopes the lawsuit will prevent the merger from happening. In the complaint, Fubo is quoting saying the other platforms have (an) “iron grip on sports content to extract billions of dollars in supra-competitive profits.” If the platform comes to fruition, it will lead to viewers paying more for sports content since the new app being the central hub for all live sports.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, another complaint Fubo has is how they feel specifically targeted by the merging companies. They claim the other companies are violating more antitrust laws by charging Fubo 50 percent higher licensing rates for content than they charge other platforms.
“Defendants also impose non-market penetration requirements (the percentage of total subscribers to which a content package must be sold to or cannot exceed) on Fubo,” the company said. “These actions individually and collectively increase the costs Fubo must pass onto customers. Fubo believes it has incurred billions of dollars in damages as a result of the Defendants’ actions.”
According to the Hollywood Reporter, in an additional statement, Fubo chief executive David Gandler said, “Each of these companies has consistently engaged in anticompetitive practices that aim to monopolize the market, stifle any form of competition, create higher pricing for subscribers and cheat consumers from deserved choice. By joining together to exclusively reserve the rights to distribute a specialized live sports package, we believe these corporations are erecting insurmountable barriers that will effectively block any new competitors from entering the market.”
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the next day after the new sports platform was announced, Fubo’s stock plummet over 25 percent. Fubo claims that “streaming sports ventures rarely work” and merger may violate antitrust laws.
“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.”
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Fubo is being represented by Joseph Hall of Kellogg, Hansen, Todd, Figel & Frederick. The firm has represented several clients including AT&T and Verizon in dealings with the Federal Communications Commission.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Fox Corp. and Warner Bros. Discovery did not immediately respond to their requests for comment. Disney declined to comment.