After Disney announced intentions to purchase Fubo in January of this year, the transaction has now been formalized.
On Wednesday, the two companies made the acquisition official, with Fubo set to merge with Hulu + Live TV, creating the sixth-largest pay TV provider in the United States. Under the combined entity, Fubo and Hulu + Live TV will remain two distinct services, but both will be owned by Disney and operate within the same business unit. The differences lie in either service’s offerings, which will range from skinny, genre-focused packages to holistic all-in-one bundles.
The transaction has faced significant antitrust scrutiny throughout the year. Disney’s purchase of Fubo came amid a lawsuit filed by the latter alleging noncompetitive business practices as Disney teamed up with Fox and Warner Bros. Discover to launch the Venu Sports skinny bundle. Fubo’s lawsuit tanked the Venu project, but Disney’s purchase of Fubo made the lawsuit go away.
Now, with many staffers in the Justice Department’s antitrust division furloughed amid the government shutdown, a “voluntary timing agreement” that both Disney and Fubo entered into as part of the federal review process has expired, clearing the way for the deal to close, according to Puck’s Eriq Gardner.
Disney would argue the acquisition is good for consumers as Fubo and Hulu + Live TV will continue to offer distinct services at various price points targeted at different subsets of viewers. Skeptics see the transaction as limiting competition.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), who has a history of scrutinizing media mergers, criticized the deal’s closing in a statement to Front Office Sports on Wednesday.
“The Trump administration’s approval of this merger means sports fans should get ready for higher costs and fewer choices to watch the games they care about,” the lawmaker said.
As a result of the transaction, Disney expects to realize synergies through content cost savings via scale and flexible programming packages, and also optimize advertising sales for both platforms. No doubt, as with most media mergers, eliminating redundancies will likely also contribute to operational synergies.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.