Virtual pay TV provider Fubo was granted a temporary reprieve last week after a federal judge issued an injunction blocking the launch of its streaming service Venu Sports at Fubo's request.
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While the media giants behind Venu — Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery — plan to appeal, the injunction could prevent the service from launching in time for the start of the NFL season next month, marking a major victory for Fubo and its virtual MVPDs (multichannel video programming distributors).
But the court’s stay is temporary in more ways than one. The injunction might not hold up to higher court review; while Fubo’s antitrust case against the platform now appears stronger than it initially appeared, it wouldn’t be a big leap for another judge to accept the argument that the service will increase competition, not diminish it.
The vMVPD argues that blocking Venu is “not only a win for Fubo, but also a win for the consumer,” as CEO David Gandler said in a statement, but consumers can hardly complain about a service that allows them to consolidate some of the many subscriptions needed to stream the breadth of live sports (though Paramount and NBCUniversal are not involved with Venu — which could be another blow to Fubo in the eyes of another judge).
