Venu Sports has had a wild ride so far. It was rumored, then announced for an eyebrow-raising $43 a month. Then, it was sued by Fubo, which dropped its suit after Disney essentially bought Fubo and merged it with Hulu + Live TV.
But now the ride is over. In a joint statement this morning, Disney (through its subsidiary ESPN), Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery announced that it was ending Venu Sports before the joint venture streaming service ever rolled out. Here’s the official statement from the three companies:
“After careful consideration, we have collectively agreed to discontinue the Venu Sports joint venture and not launch the streaming service. In an ever-changing marketplace, we determined that it was best to meet the evolving demands of sports fans by focusing on existing products and distribution channels. We are proud of the work that has been done on Venu to date and grateful to the Venu staff, whom we will support through this transition period.”
Is Venu Sports really done?
In a word? Yes. Venu is really done. But in two words … maybe not.
Or at least, maybe it’s not done for two of these three companies. Venu was originally supposed to combine ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, ESPNEWS, ABC, FOX, FS1, FS2, BTN, TNT, TBS, truTV and the streaming service ESPN Plus under a single streaming service. However, Disney has also been working on a separate over-the-top (OTT) digital streaming service just for ESPN. That venture is still very much alive. Disney recently affirmed its commitment to it when it announced the Hulu + Live TV and Fubo merger, and frankly, it’s what probably led to the death of Venu Sports.
But here’s where things get interesting. There have been rumors that, to improve its standalone ESPN offering, Disney was going to combine it with Fox Sports (h/t The Town with Matthew Belloni). If that’s ultimately the case, you’ll still end up with Venu Sports, it’ll just be missing TNT, TBS and truTV, and be branded with the much more valuable and recognizable ESPN brand. Yes, that’s a bummer for Warner Bros. Discovery, but given they recently lost their NBA rights to NBC Universal and Prime Video, it’s probably a win for just about everyone else, including consumers.
At least, provided it’s not still $43 a month. If it is, I’m still out.
