Venu Sports streaming app hits legal hurdle

Venu Sports — which will be a significant home for NTT IndyCar Series streaming when it moves from NBC to FOX in 2025 — is facing a significant hurdle in its plans to launch the new mega-streaming bundle later this month.

Its $42.99/month offering, which includes 14 channels spanning ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, ESPN+, SEC Network, ACC Network, FOX, FOX Sports 1, FOX Sports 2, Big Ten Network, TNT, TBS and truTV, was meant to go live at the end of August, but a lawsuit from rival streamer FuboTV received a favorable preliminary injunction that has halted those plans.

FuboTV claims it was prevented from offering a sports bundle of its own by ESPN, FOX and Warner Bros. Discovery, who went on to band together and form Venu Sports.

“United States District Judge Margaret M. Garnett in the Southern District of New York said in her 69-page ruling Friday that Fubo was likely to be successful in proving that the joint venture would violate antitrust laws and that Fubo and consumers would “face irreparable harm in the absence of an injunction,” reports ESPN.

As RACER recently chronicled, fans without a cable subscription (or a subscription to an independent streaming service that includes FOX) will have free-to-air access to IndyCar races on FOX, but access to IndyCar on FOX streams through the FOX Sports app will require authentication through a cable provider. With Venu Sports, IndyCar followers without cable and without a subscription to YouTube TV or similar, would have a pathway to stream every practice and qualifying session on FS1 and FS2, and every race on the FOX network.

The injunction will be met with an appeal, and until the matter is resolved, IndyCar’s main solution for its series among those who’ve left cable or prefer streaming is in limbo. It also affects other key racing properties like Formula 1 (ESPN/ABC), and NASCAR and the NHRA (FOX).

“We believe that Fubo’s arguments are wrong on the facts and the law, and that Fubo has failed to prove it is legally entitled to a preliminary injunction,” ESPN said. “Venu Sports is a pro-competitive option that aims to enhance consumer choice by reaching a segment of viewers who currently are not served by existing subscription options.”