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Unless someone gets off the bench to make a deal, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery & Fox‘s big play into sports streaming looks like it is going to trial in October 2025, a federal judge ordered today.
Making official what she told lawyers and executives for the lumbering media giants and upstart Fubo TV on December 13 in court, U.S. District Court Judge Margaret M. Garnett Monday ordered that efforts to toss out the David Gandler run outlet’s lawsuit against their Venu Sports streamer had failed.
“As discussed on the record with the parties at the oral argument held on December 13, 2024, Fox’s motion to sever claims and transfer venue is DENIED; Warner Bros. Discovery’s motion to dismiss is DENIED; the Disney Defendants’ motion to dismiss is DENIED; and Fox’s motion to dismiss is DENIED,” it said in the court docket today. “The Court’s opinion and orders on these motions, having been read into the record on December 13, 2024, can be accessed by ordering the transcript for that proceeding once that transcript has been unsealed and made available.”
Right now, having already blown through Venu’s planned August launch date because of their inability to sack Fubo TV’s February filed antitrust suit, ESPN and Hulu owners Disney, Max-owner WBD and Fox will now face an October 6 starting trial next year in Judge Garnett’s NYC courtroom.
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With nothing on the field or court yet, Venu’s trinity of backers, which have spent more than $50 million together preparing the now stunted service to go live, filed an appeal to the Second Circuit over Judge Garnett’s summer stunner against them granting Fubo’s request for a preliminary injunction. The trio laid out their objections to Garnett’s ruling in a brief filed in September. Now, with a scheduled January 6 hearing in the Court of Appeal, the Pete Distad.-led Venu have put a lot of their chips on puling off a Hail Mary to overturn Judge Garnett’s August order.
It’s a big bet that won’t stop the October trial over antitrust issues. It’s a big bet with either a big win and gets the injunction lifted and Venu up and running. It’s a big win or a probably fatal loss and the end of Venu as the outcome.
The David to the Big 3 Goliaths here and their Cravath, Swaine & Moore lawyers, Fubo TV are not only seeking cash its rivals current and potentially future, but sports streamer want to the threesomes’ proposed sports streamer shut down and buried at legal sea for good by a court order.
Disney, WBD and Fox were likely not very surprised at what went down today after the oral discussion in Judge Garnet’s courtroom at the end of last week. Still not one of the three replied to Deadline’s request today for comment on the failure of their dismissal efforts and more. If they do respond, this post will be updated — which has a better change of occurring than the proposed $42.99 a month Venu seeing digital light of day anytime soon.
The truth is this has not been a good series for the trio of corporate heavy hitters, and this latest ruling puts Venu less likely to ever see that streaming light of day.
Fubo first filed their lawsuit slamming the proposed service anti-competitive in the opening weeks of the year. Since then the sports broadcast and streaming has altered dramatically. As but two examples, Netflix is now teaming up with the NFL for live game, including on Christmas Day, and WBD lost its NBA contract with no more than scraps after settling a separate lawsuit against the Adam Silver-run bball league.
Maybe a time out wouldn’t be such a bad idea.
