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FuboTV (NYSE:FUBO) has voiced its apprehensions about the potential impact of a new sports streaming service, a collaborative effort between media giants Walt Disney (DIS), Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), and Fox (FOX) (FOXA), on fair market competition.
These declarations from FUBO come in the wake of a substantial intraday decline in its stock value, marking the most significant drop since early November 2021. The company’s shares plummeted by 22.71% to close at $1.94.
The emerging sports-only streaming service, jointly pioneered by the heavyweight media conglomerates, presents a formidable threat to FuboTV’s sports-centric streaming service. The offering by Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Fox could potentially include content currently unavailable on FuboTV.
“This joint venture spotlights a concerning trend where an alliance with significant market share, reportedly controlling 60-85% of all sports content, could dictate market terms in a manner that may not serve the broader interests of consumers,” stated FuboTV in response to the situation.
“We have already seen that a consortium born of historical competitors is a difficult undertaking, and streaming joint ventures rarely work. As well, we know sports-only programming is highly challenged,” added the company.
On Wall Street, the announcement of the joint-venture sports streaming service by Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Fox was met with cautious optimism. Analysts acknowledged the novel approach to counter the escalating costs of sports rights but remained circumspect until further details about the offering surfaced.
TV broadcaster Gray Television (GTN) also weighed in on the collaborative initiative, expressing that the service could present a “significant opportunity to expand the pay-TV ecosystem.”
“Local affiliated stations not only carry nationally televised sports but also provide local sports coverage … We believe that including ABC and Fox stations in a new virtual multichannel video programming service could offer benefits to viewers, their local communities, and local broadcasters,” shared Gray (GTN).
“Gray (GTN) welcomes any venture that expands the reach of local broadcasting stations, which in turn supports the ability of local stations to maintain trusted local news operations that benefit everyone,” the company concluded.
