US congressmen on Tuesday raised competitive concerns about the sports streaming joint venture planned by Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery Channel.
The Zhitong Finance App learned that US Congressman Jerry Nadler (Jerry Nadler) and Joaquin Castro (Joaquin Castro) raised competitive concerns about the sports streaming joint venture planned by Disney (DIS.US), FOX.US (FOX.US), and Warner Bros. Discovery Channel (WBD.US) in a letter on Tuesday. The letter reads: “We are concerned that this integration will lead to higher prices for consumers and unfair licensing terms for upstream sports leagues and downstream video publishers.”
They urged these companies to respond to their inquiries by April 30 and send responses to the Ministry of Justice.
According to information, in February of this year, Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery Channel said they plan to launch a joint streaming platform to share sports assets in the fall of this year, providing consumers with a new way to watch live sports broadcasts for the first time.
The platform will be a more streamlined linear network than standard cable TV, tailored specifically for sports fans. It will include radio and cable networks for all sports programs owned by Disney, ESPN+, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery. According to people familiar with the matter, although the platform's subscription price has yet to be determined, a reasonable subscription price might be $45 or $50 per month.
According to reports, ESPN and Warner Bros. already have broadcasting rights for most NHL and NBA games, and all three companies also own broadcasting rights for most MLB games. This collaboration will integrate the provision of live sports broadcasts from a large number of professional and college leagues, including the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB.
The platform will be a newly formed company with its own leadership team. Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery will each hold one-third of the newly formed company's shares. Consumers will subscribe directly through a new app, and subscribers can also bundle the product with streaming services such as Disney+, Hulu, and Max (formerly HBO Max).
Shortly after the announcement of the joint news from the above companies, fuboTV (FUBO.US) has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery and their affiliates. These companies are partners of a joint venture to be established, and the company will merge the achievements of these companies in the field of streaming live sports.
fuboTV alleges that the three companies have been “active” for several years, engaging in anti-competitive behavior and hampering Fubo's sports-focused streaming business.
Fubo said the new joint venture “is just the latest step in the defendant's campaign to eliminate competition in the sports streaming market and take ownership of this market.”
Disney and Warner Bros. did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Fox declined to comment.