The Department of Justice Is Now Investigating the Disney-Fubo Deal

The Walt Disney Company rocked the streaming landscape last January when it announced they were purchasing a 70% stake in Fubo and combining the service with its own Hulu + Live TV.

Disney’s purchase of Fubo was a twist ending to the saga of Venu Sports, a new streaming service that would have brought together the top sports networks from Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Fox.

Upon the announcement that Venu Sports was in development, Fubo filed an antitrust lawsuit against the joint partners. In a surprise development, a Federal judge issued an injunction, blocking the streaming service’s launch while the legal process played out.

Venu

With Disney’s purchase of Fubo, one antitrust lawsuit ended. However, another was just beginning.

Antitrust Concerns Were Immediately Raised

Just days after Disney’s purchase of Fubo, a subscriber to the latter streaming service filed a new antitrust lawsuit. Subsequently, Senator Elizabeth Warren raised her own antitrust concerns about the deal.

“This proposed acquisition raises significant concerns under antitrust law, would give Disney increased market power and incentives to increase costs for viewers, and should be regarded as another data point in Disney’s history of anti-competitive behavior,” Warren wrote.

Now, the Disney-Fubo deal is facing another legal challenge.

The Department of Justice Is Now Investigating

According to a report from Reuters, the Department of Justice (DOJ) is now probing Disney’s purchase of Fubo.

Photo: Deadline

Reuters reported that the DOJ is investigating whether the merger of Disney and Fubo would create a sports streaming monopoly.

Neither Disney nor the DOJ has commented on the investigation, which has the potential to define the sports streaming market for years to come.

Walt Disney Company

As always, continue to check back with MickeyBlog. We will continue to update you on any developments in the Disney-Fubo merger.

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