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Disney/ESPN, Fox Corp. and Warner Bros. Discovery's sports streaming bundle now a has a name: Venu Sports, Variety reported.
Venu Sports CEO Pete Distad said in a statement, “We are excited to officially introduce Venu Sports, a brand that we feel captures the spirit of an all-new streaming home where sports fans outside of the traditional pay TV ecosystem can experience an incredible collection of live sports, all in one place.”
“As preparations for the platform continue to accelerate, we are singularly focused on delivering a best-in-class product for our target audience, built from the ground up using the latest technologies to engage and entertain discerning sports fans wanting one-stop access to live games,” he continued in the statement.
It's pronounced just like “venue” — just without an “e”
The three companies revealed the partnership in February, and introduced the bundle as an option to offer customers who don't wish to have a pay TV subscription. The streaming bundle is set to be launched this fall.
Distad was hired in March. He spent a decade at Apple and was most recently the tech giant's chief for its Apple TV+ business, operations and global distribution.
The streaming bundle's pricing as specific release date has not been announced yet. Venu Sports combines ESPN+ with the companies' linear TV networks with the sports channels: ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, ESPNews, Fox, FS1, FS2, Big Ten Network, TNT, TBS and truTV.
When the partnership was announced, a few had jokingly named it “Spulu,” a portmanteau of “sports” and “Hulu,” since the streamer was initially formed much like Venu.
The JV now has a website at venu.com. At the bottom of the website's landing page, it says, “Launch is conditional on receiving regulatory approval and is expected for Fall 2024.”
With our streaming powers combined…
Venu.com's terms of service states that it's operated by Fox Corp. subsidiary Rookie Enterprises, LLC. When the new name was announced, Disney, Fox and WBD made a note that the JV is still pending until the definitive agreements among the parties are finalized.
Variety reported last month that two House Democrats, Reps. Jerrold Nadler of New York and Joaquin Castro of Texas, are concerned that the joint venture could “result in higher prices for consumers and less fair licensing terms for upstream sports leagues and downstream video distributors.” Streaming TV service Fubo also filed a lawsuit in federal court to block the service's launch. The company claimed the the JV was in violation of anti-trust laws.
A few weeks later, May 2, Fubo, DirecTV, Dish Network, Newsmax and other streaming service providers sent a letter to Congress to ask for hearings on the pay-TV market's state of competition. These companies specifically referred to the Disney-Fox-WBD JV, which they saw as a service that raised “serious competition concerns” that needed Congress' oversight.
The three companies stated that Venu will be available to consumers through a new app. Subscribers to the service will also be able to buy it as a part of a bundle, with Disney+, Hulu or Max, the companies' super streaming bundle.
A Venu spokesperson explained that the name Venu was inspired by the word which collective refers to the space where live sports is frequently held, leaving off the last letter.
