Disney, Warner Bros., Fox kill streamed sports joint venture

Three of the nation's largest broadcast media companies have scrapped plans to launch a joint direct-to-consumer streaming platform for live sports, the group announced Friday.

Warner Bros. Discovery, Fox Corp. and Disney, which owns ESPN, had been planning to roll out a first of its kind subscription-based digital service called "Venu," which would have made top NFL, NBA, MLB and college sports games available to stream.

A subscription to Venu was slated to cost more than $50 a month.

“After careful consideration, we have collectively agreed to discontinue the Venu Sports joint venture and not launch the streaming service," the companies said in a joint statement. "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."

The decision comes as a major shock to the world of sports broadcasting and streamed live media, which has seen some of the largest tech companies like Amazon, Netflix and YouTube enter the space.

News of Venu's shuttering comes just days after Disney announced it had agreed to acquire Fubo, a platform that offers a sports-first package of live TV streaming channels that it advertises as cheaper than traditional cable bundles.

Fubo agreed to sell to Disney as it was suing the three conglomerates over the sports joint venture, alleging anticompetitive practices.

The decision to scrap Venu comes as each of the major legacy media companies continue to pour millions into streamed content and face major losses on Wall Street on linear broadcast 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," the companies said.

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