The path is now clear for the launch of the sports streaming service whose creation was jointly planned by audiovisual giants The Walt Disney Company, Fox Corporation and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). The project to create the new OTT, called Venu Sports and exclusively designed for the US market, was put on hold as a result of a lawsuit filed by Fubo, a US streaming platform with a strong focus on sports, on the grounds that the new product was anticompetitive. However, under an agreement announced by Disney and Fubo on January 6, the latter will drop its legal action.

The agreement includes a transaction between Disney and Fubo whereby the plan offered by Disney’s streaming service Hulu under the Hulu + Live TV brand will be combined with Fubo’s offering. The result will be a Pay TV streaming company in which Disney will hold 70% of the capital, according to a press release issued by the companies.

The press release includes the following information: “Fubo has settled all litigation with Disney and Espn related to Venu Sports. Fubo has also settled all litigation with Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery. Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery will make an aggregate cash payment to Fubo of USD 220 million. In addition, Disney has committed to provide a USD 145 million term loan to Fubo in 2026 as part of the transaction. Additionally, a termination fee of USD 130 million will be payable to Fubo under certain circumstances, including if the transaction fails to close due to the failure to obtain requisite regulatory approvals.”

In this way, the main obstacle to the creation of Venu Sports has been removed. The new OTT will combine the broadcasting rights held by Disney, Fox Corp. and WBD, which companies have so far provided no information about the current status of the project. Nor have they made any announcement about the tentative launch date of the new streaming service.