Only two weeks after it was announced, the partnership between Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. to create a new sports-focused streaming service is already facing legal challenges.
FuboTV, a media platform that offers live sports programming, filed a lawsuit challenging the upcoming Disney-Fox-Warner Bros. partnership based on antitrust concerns. Fubo’s CEO David Gandler released a statement accusing his would-be competitor of engaging in “anticompetitive practices that aim to monopolize the market.”
He went on to say, “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.”
While many legal analysts see fuboTV’s position as “sour grapes,” it is expected that the proposed partnership will also be challenged by other cable providers and government regulators, who may have better standing to challenge the joint venture.
Live sports programming is one of the primary reasons why consumers choose to keep their cable service. Therefore, the creation of a streaming alternative by major players has made traditional players jittery.