ESPN, Fox, and Warner Decide Not to Launch Venu Sports Streaming Service

Venu Sports was expected to launch before the end of 2024 as the premier sports streaming service with access to all ESPN networks, Fox sports properties and Warner TNT affiliates, as well as all major sports leagues and championships. It will make a big difference even if the price is hurt all our wallets by $43 a month. As it turns out, our wallets are safe for now because Venu Sports is no more.

You may remember that earlier this week Fubo TV and Hulu + Live TV announced an awkward merger of sorts. The move is very much part of that story, as Fubo has been involved in a legal battle with Venu Sports backers (ESPN, Fox and Warner) over anti-competitive sports licensing stemming from their venture to launch this top streaming service. The Fubo and Hulu merger was a sign that they had come to some kind of agreement, but I’m not sure anyone saw today’s announcement coming.

In a short statement, ESPN announced that “Venu Sports will be discontinued” and then added:

“After careful consideration, we have collectively agreed to terminate the Venu Sports joint venture and not launch a streaming service. In an ever-changing marketplace, we have found that we can best meet the growing needs of sports fans by focusing on existing products and distribution channels. We are proud of the work done at Venu to date and grateful to the Venu employees we will support during this transition.”

It will be hard not to see this Fubo merger as part of that end, although there is still a very good chance that legislators and other competitors (DirecTV) were also planning to come beyond Vienna. However, it was supposed to be a massive launch and you have to wonder what else happened behind the scenes.

For those looking forward to Venu Sports, you’ll have to move on and continue covering sports where you currently are.

// ESPN