Fubo-Venu lawsuit set for lengthy battle

Lawyers for Fubo, Walt Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Fox assembled again today in the same lower Manhattan federal courthouse where they battled over a week last month. Fubo sued the three other media concerns in February over their plans for a sports streaming app, Venu Sports, and won a preliminary injunction last month against the platform, designed to air 14 sports and sports-related channels from the three media programmers.

So, if Venu Sports is enjoined, why were the companies’ lawyers back in front of Judge Margaret Garnett?  I’m here to answer questions because a lot is still going on.

Isn’t the case essentially stayed?

No. While Venu is enjoined , Fubo’s lawsuit moves forward.  The lawsuit aimed not only at Venu but also at the channel bundling practices of Fox and Disney and the use of most favored nations (MFN) clauses by all three (WBD hasn’t had a deal with Fubo since 2020, so its bundling has not at issue). MFNs are provisions in contracts between programmers and distributors that if the programmer goes and signs another distributor deal with better terms, the first distributor gets the same terms. Antony Ryan, a lawyer for Disney, told the court today that MFNs are pro-competitive. So, a lot is left on the case’s bingo card, even if Venu is dormant.

When is the trial then?

That was essentially the question that brought the parties together today–in a smaller courtroom than the one that held the preliminary injunction hearing last month.  Disney, WBD, and Fox maintain there is so much discovery to complete that the earliest a trial should be held is February, as in February 2026.

Because Fubo is attacking bundling, the lawyers for Disney, Fox, and WBD said third-party programmers in and out of sports will need to be deposed. Market definitions for sports and non-sports channels will need to be developed. Fubo proposes June 2025, arguing that a lot of discovery is already done after the injunction trial, and Fubo pledged to limit the time frame for discovery.

Isn’t Venu eager to go live? Why would the companies behind it delay a trial?

There are two separate tracks. One, Venu’s founders have an expedited appeal underway of Judge Garnett’s preliminary injunction decision in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, with oral arguments scheduled for late December. (Judge Garnett noted slyly that just because an expedited schedule is granted does not mean the decision will be).

But the appeal is distinct from the trial process. Venu will or will not go live in the near term based on the Second Circuit, not the trial time frame. Theoretically, an early trial in the spring could achieve the same goal, but that does not seem practical. According to the three programmers, there are essentially six trials: Fox and bundling, Disney and bundling, WBD and MFN, Fox and MFN, Disney and MFN, and Venu Sports. Venu’s members contend that this is overly complicated and time-consuming.

Shouldn’t this case be broken up?

Judge Garnett raised bifurcating the case, but Fubo’s lead counsel objected, saying the issues are interrelated. Fox plans to file to transfer part of the case to California, which Fubo will object to. As a WBD lawyer noted in 2018, the last time the media company signed a deal with Fubo, the contracts had no MFNs, suggesting its MFN case would be dismissed. So, while it’s one case right now, parts of it could peel away.

So when is the trial?

Judge Garnett indicated September 2025, with a trial lasting for a month. A definitive schedule is expected out later today. ( Update : The trial is officially scheduled for October 6th, 2025 with summary judgement motions due July 3rd.) But she noted two things could accelerate the pace. The first is if the 2nd Circuit lifts the injunction. Fubo has argued Venu is an existential threat, so if it launches, time is of the essence. A second reason would be if Judge Garnett grants motions to dismiss some charges. That, though, seems unlikely given she enjoined Venu and, in her ruling, questioned the legality of bundling . But she raised the possibility.

What happens in the near term now?

Based on a preliminary schedule agreed to by the parties, the three programmers’ motions to dismiss are due in two weeks. Much of the rest of the schedule they disagree on. For example, Fubo scheduled the motion for summary judgment on May 7, 2025, and Fox, WBD, and Disney more than four months later. So the judge’s order today will resolve that.

What happens to Venu Sports while it is enjoined?

According to a court filing last month by Pete Distad, Venu’s CEO, Fox, which is overseeing Venu directly, hired 127 employees for the app .

“We had anticipated that Venu would launch at the beginning of the NFL and college football season (in late August or early September),” Distad wrote in the declaration. “The Preliminary Injunction has shattered those expectations and placed our new platform in limbo, as we are prevented from bringing to market this exciting new product, and the injunction directly threatens our future employment.” Prospective hires are on hold, he wrote. “Each month going forward, the JV (Venu joint venture) members will pay millions of dollars in employee payroll for the Venu team, as well as millions more in contractual, infrastructure, and other costs.”

The post Everything you need to know about the ongoing Fubo-Venu Sports dispute appeared first on Awful Announcing .