US Justice Dept, states back FuboTV in lawsuit over streaming sports venture
By Mike Scarcella
Nov 27 (Reuters) -The U.S. Justice Department and 16 U.S. states said in a pair of court filings that they support a court order won by FuboTV FUBO.N in August that temporarily blocked Walt Disney DIS.N, Fox FOXA.O and Warner Bros Discovery WBD.O from launching a competing sports streaming venture.
The Justice Department, New York, Illinois, California and other states on Tuesday urged the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold the preliminary injunction.
Sports-focused live TV streaming company Fubo in February sued to block the new venture, called Venu Sports, arguing it will violate U.S. antitrust law by reducing competition and driving up prices. Venu and the media giants have denied the claims, asserting that the platform will offer more consumer choice.
The Justice Department and state coalition, which included the District of Columbia, submitted Tuesday's filings as friend-of-the-court briefs to express their views. They are not part of the lawsuit.
Six other states, including Florida, backed the media companies and Venu in a brief filed in September.
Fubo in a statement said support from the Justice Department and states “reinforces our belief that the appellate court will uphold the preliminary injunction against the defendants.”
Venu has said “Fubo’s arguments are wrong on the facts and the law" and that Fubo had not shown it was entitled to the injunction.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Venu, which would combine thousands of live professional and collegiate sporting events into a single app, was scheduled to launch this fall. Disney, Fox and Warner Bros contend they have no “duty to deal” with Fubo to help it compete with Venu.
U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett in her preliminary injunction ruling said Venu's media partners could "exercise near-monopolistic control" over sports rights to prevent rivals from emerging.
The Justice Department in its filing said a joint venture can be unlawful “even if that same conduct would be legal when done by a single firm.”
New York and the other states told the court that “just as forcing rivals to work together can harm competition, allowing rivals to agree to work together can also harm competition.”
The case is FuboTV et al v. The Walt Disney Company et al, 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 24-2210.
Read more:
US judge delays launch of sports streaming venture from Disney, media giants
FuboTV files antitrust lawsuit to block Disney, Fox, Warner sports streaming deal
Reporting by Mike Scarcella
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
