Disney, Fox, WBD Lose Second Attempt to Dismiss Venu Sports Streaming Litigation
December 17, 2024
The Walt Disney Co., Fox Sports and Warner Bros. Discovery’s second attempt to dismiss an antitrust case filed in February by rival Fubo TV against the companies’ pending Venu Sports live-streaming subscription service ended the way the first attempt did: in failure.
U.S. District Court Judge Margaret Garnett, who in August ordered the case to go to trial in 2025, Dec. 13 denied the studios’ oral arguments seeking to quash the matter, which is set to go to hear opening arguments next October.
“Fox’s motion to sever claims and transfer venue is denied; Warner Bros. Discovery’s motion to dismiss is denied; the Disney defendants’ motion to dismiss is denied; and Fox’s motion to dismiss is denied,” read the court report.
Fubo claims the defendants are not acting in good faith bundling their linear sports channels to pay-TV and online distribution partners, in an effort to guarantee the success of Venu Sports.
Both parties in the case have been ordered to complete their discovery phase by next March. The trial could be delayed or dismissed on appeal to U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York.
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