*

Fubo settles litigation with Disney, Fox, Warner Bros

*

Judge's injunction had temporarily barred Venu launch

By Dawn Chmielewski, Mike Scarcella

Jan 6 (Reuters) - Streaming service FuboTV said

on Monday it has agreed to end litigation against the three

major media companies behind the live sports app Venu Sports

after Walt Disney Co announced it would merge its Hulu +

Live TV business with Fubo.

Disney, Fox and Warner Bros Discovery ( WBD ) had been

set to argue before the New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of

Appeals on Monday that a judge's decision to block Venu's launch

improperly denied consumers access to a new, lower-cost service.

The service was designed to appeal to price-conscious sports

fans.

Fubofiled its suit in February 2024, saying Venu would violate

U.S. antitrust law by reducing competition and driving up

prices.

In a joint filing, Fubo said it was voluntarily dismissing its

underlying lawsuit in federal court in Manhattan. Disney, Fox

and Warner Bros dismissed their appeal.

Fubo in a statement on Monday said it has settled all

litigation with Disney and ESPN related to Venu, and also

settled all litigation with Fox and Warner Bros Discovery ( WBD ).

Disney said on Monday that it would combine its Hulu + Live TV

business with Fubo. The deal would create the second-biggest

internet pay-TV company in North America, behind YouTube TV,

with around $6 billion in revenue and 6.2 million subscribers.

A judge ruled in August that Fubo was likely to succeed on

its antitrust claims, and issued the injunction temporarily

barring Venu's launch.

In their appeal, Disney, Warner Bros and Fox said blocking

Venu would decrease consumer choice and deny lower prices to

consumers "all with the effect of shielding Fubo from

competition."

The U.S. Justice Department, New York, Illinois, California and

other states in November urged the 2nd Circuit to uphold the

preliminary injunction. Florida and five other states had asked

the 2nd Circuit to reject the injunction.