The Justice Department is scrutinizing the joint sports streaming service that was announced by Disney, Fox Corp, and Warner Bros. Discovery over concerns about potential harm to consumers, media competitors, and sports leagues. There will be a regulatory review that will happen once the joint venture venture agreement is completed. At this point, the companies have not been formally notified of this examination.
In a release from Disney, the proposed streaming service would bring “together the companies’ portfolios of sports networks, certain direct-to-consumer (DTC) sports services – including content from all the major professional sports leagues and college sports.” If all goes as planned, the service would be launched in the fall of 2024. Disney says that the platform would “aggregate content to offer fans an extensive, dynamic lineup of sports content, aiming to provide a new and differentiated experience to serve sports fans, particularly those outside of the traditional pay TV bundle.”
The service has received objections from smaller cable providers and at least one Internet TV service. They argue that this new service could lead to an inflation of prices and also limit sports leagues’ rights-selling options.
The scrutiny is no surprise as the Justice Department has been paying closer attention to antitrust issues within the sports and media industries. This includes investigations into the PGA Tour and the National Collegiate Athletics Association for potential anti-competitive practices. Part of the reason that this might be scrutinized more is because the streaming deal could see Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery not needing to competitively bid for different sports rights.
As Disney evaluates the future of its linear television networks as it increasingly transitions to streaming model, this is one more piece of the puzzle. Disney also is looking to make a stand alone ESPN streaming platform that will be launching in 2025. It is unknown how this would fit in with this other streaming service.
How this plays out remains to be seen. However, answers may come sooner than expected if this new conglomerate streaming service does hope to be launching this fall. If it does, it could become the Hulu of sports streaming.
What do you think about this development for this streaming service? Do you think there is credibility to these concerns? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!
