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(Bloomberg) -- Senator Elizabeth Warren is urging the US Justice Department to scrutinize Walt Disney Co.’s deal to take a controlling stake in streaming company FuboTV Inc, arguing that the move is anticompetitive.
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In January, Disney agreed to merge its Hulu + Live TV streaming service with the online sports-focused company Fubo, creating the second-biggest digital pay-TV provider. Disney would own 70% of the new venture, with Fubo owning the rest. The deal ended a lawsuit brought by Fubo against Disney, Fox Corp. and Warner Bros Discovery Inc. for their planned sports streaming service, Venu, and days later the companies scrapped plans for Venu’s launch.
Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, said Disney’s deal with Fubo allows the entertainment giant to “circumvent the lawsuit while gobbling up a competitor,” she wrote to Acting Assistant Attorney General Omeed Assefi. The letter was reported earlier by Variety.
“This proposed acquisition raises significant concerns under antitrust law, would give Disney increased market power and incentives to increase costs for viewers, and should be regarded as another data point in Disney’s history of anticompetitive behavior,” Warren wrote.
Last year, Fubo sued Disney, Fox and Warner Bros., claiming the proposed joint venture would be anti competitive by blocking rivals from offering similar, sports-only streaming packages. Warren raised concern about Venu last summer, warning that the new offering would dominate the market for live sports streaming.
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