A powerful sports-streaming trio gets sued, showing it’s a threat to rivals (and cable)
New clique in town... This week, live sports-streaming service FuboTV sued Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery. At issue: the trio’s announcement of a joint live-sports platform, which will feature feeds from 14 networks and cover over half of all US sports rights (recall: Disney owns ESPN). The mega-streamer will include games from major leagues like the NFL, NBA, and MLB, plus several college sports. It’s set to roll out this fall, but Fubo argues it could inflate licensing fees and raise streaming prices.
Too big to play: In its lawsuit, FuboTV called the move “extreme suppression of competition in the U.S. sports-focused streaming market.”
Hardball: If the bundle’s priced at less than Fubo’s $80/month basic plan (which offers streams of 180+ channels), it would pose a serious threat. It would also rival other live TV streamers like YouTube TV and Sling TV (think: cable, but streamed).
Step aside, “Love Is Blind”… The real competition in streaming isn’t for season six — it’s for game six. Last year, streamers spent $6B on live-sports rights as they competed to woo subscription-fatigued consumers. From Netflix’s $5B WWE deal to NBCUniversal’s Peacock-exclusive NFL games, the sports frenzy has revved up this year. It seems to be paying off: Peacock said its NFL playoff game was the most-streamed live event in US history, and Apple TV+’s MLS deal netted 110K sign-ups in one day.
The real threat is to cable… While the sports alliance is bad news for rival streamers like Apple, Amazon, and Netflix, it could be a game-ender for cable. Live sports are the one thing keeping many from cutting the cord, and streamers are vying to sever it. CNBC reported that pay-TV execs are privately expressing concern that the trio’s bundle would lead to surging cable cancellations. But it could face antitrust challenges.