Why Disney’s Major Fubo Deal Is About More Than a Sports Streaming Legal Battle

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The Mouse House is expanding, with Disney combining its Hulu + Live TV business with Fubo, but the streaming TV deal may be about way more than settling a legal battle over Venu Sports.

Today, Disney announced its deal to combine its Hulu + Live TV business with Fubo, creating a combined virtual multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD) company. With the deal, Disney becomes the majority owner of the resulting company, controlling 70% of Fubo. This new combined business is operating under Fubo’s existing management team and the Fubo name, and Fubo and Hulu + Live TV will continue to be available to consumers as separate offerings.

As a result of the deal, Fubo will create a new sports and broadcasting service featuring Disney’s sports and broadcast networks. The combined company will have 6.2 million North American subscribers, reportedly making it the second-largest all-digital TV service after YouTubeTV’s 8 million.

Notably, Fubo had been engaged in a legal battle against Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery over the launch of their proposed combined MVPD, Venu Sports, which Fubo claimed was anti-competitive. Now, all the litigation between the companies has been settled.


The streaming climate is tumultuous, so streamers such as Disney, Peacock, and Max are bundling up.

According to a statement from Disney, at signing of the transaction, Disney, Fox, and WBD will make an aggregate cash payment of $220 million to Fubo. In addition, Disney has committed to provide a $145 million term loan to Fubo in 2026 as part of the transaction.

Following the deal annoucement, Fubo’s stock surged 200%, according to reports.

“Fubo won concessions from its lawsuit in an indirect way,” Ross Benes, senior analyst at eMarketer, told ADWEEK. “Going after Venu contributed to a merger with Hulu.”

Disney, Fox, and WBD originally planned to launch Venu last year, but Fubo’s lawsuit halted those plans. With the lawsuit dropped, Venu has a seemingly smooth runway for a launch, and Fubo is expected to serve as a reseller of Venu Sports, according to reporting from The Desk.

Venu Sports did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

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