San Francisco (awp/afp) – Disney and FuboTV announced Monday that they will combine Hulu, a streaming platform owned by Disney, and Fubo, a sports streaming service, ending an ongoing dispute between the two American companies.
Under the agreement, Disney becomes the “majority owner” of Fubo, with a 70% stake, and Fubo’s current management team will manage the new entity, which also includes the live television offering on Hulu, specifies an attached press release.
At the beginning of 2024, Fubo filed a complaint against the alliance between three media giants, ESPN (Disney subsidiary), Fox and Warner Bros Discovery who wanted to launch “Venu Sports”, a common streaming platform dedicated to sport.
In August, a US federal court banned this launch pending the resolution of the lawsuits, a decision then described as a “victory” by FuboTV, in the name of consumer access to a “more competitive market with multiple sports streaming options “.
“All disputes between Fubo and Disney have been resolved,” Monday’s statement said.
Hulu and Fubo as well as live TV streaming will continue to be offered as separate services. Combined, the platforms have more than 6.2 million subscribers in North America, according to the two companies.
The new company will be the second largest online pay TV provider in the United States, behind YouTube TV, which costs $83 per month.
“The combination of Fubo and Disney creates a duopoly in the digital pay TV sector,” responded Ross Benes, analyst at Emarketer.
“Although Disney is the majority shareholder of this new duo, the publicly traded company under the name Fubo and run by the Fubo team gives the impression that Disney plans, eventually, to withdraw as pay TV operator,” he added.
He also believes that this announcement “gives Venu Sports a better chance to launch”, but that this depends on justice.
FuboTV shares jumped more than 130% on the New York Stock Exchange Monday morning.
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