Bob Iger has finally provided an update as to why Disney dropped out of its streaming service plans earlier this year.
It’s been several years now since Disney first got into the streaming game. Contrary to popular belief, Disney+ wasn’t its first streaming service, with a trial product known as Disney Life (which has since been shuttered) actually launched in the UK back in 2015 as its guinea pig product before it hit the big leagues with Disney+ in 2019.
During that time, Disney has gradually closed other supplementary streaming apps – including DisneyNow, ABC, Freeform, and FX – in order to consolidate its services. It’s also started merging Hulu into the app for some subscribers, with some countries accessing Hulu content via an additional tile called Star.
Even after all this time, Disney still manages to surprise us with some of its streaming services. In January, it pulled off one of its most shocking moves yet when it axed plans for a service that seemed to finally be on the verge of coming to fruition. Venu was a planned joint venture by Disney, Warner Bros., and Fox, with all making their sports content accessible in one single subscription service.
The End of Venu Sports
Initially slated to launch in the summer of 2024, the plan was for it to launch as a standalone subscription or as part of a bundle with Disney+, Tubi, Hulu, Max, or ESPN+. Led by former Apple executive Pete Distad, the plan was for Venu Sports to boast an initial price tag of $42.99 per month.
But the path to streaming success never runs smoothly.
On August 16, 2024, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction to prevent Venu from launching after FuboTV filed an antitrust lawsuit against the three partnering companies. FuboTV – known for its focus on sports streaming – had previously failed to secure a deal to include the same limited set of channels the companies had reserved for their own platform.
Months later, this legal dispute was resolved as part of FuboTV’s merger with Hulu’s Live TV service. This saw FuboTV accept a $220 million settlement and give Disney a 70% stake in the newly combined entity.
While it finally seemed like the path was clear for Venu to finally launch, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Fox released a statement just days later declaring that Venu was officially dead in the water.
“After careful consideration, we have collectively agreed to discontinue the Venu Sports joint venture and not launch the streaming service,” the studios said in a joint statement (via The Hollywood Reporter). “In an ever-changing marketplace, we determined that it was best to meet the evolving demands of sports fans by focusing on existing products and distribution channels. We are proud of the work that has been done on Venu to date and grateful to the Venu staff, whom we will support through this transition period.”
Bob Iger Explains Why Venu Had To Go
Disney CEO Bob Iger has finally offered more clarification on the decision, claiming that the concept of “skinny bundles” simply posed a better solution than launching a joint venture with Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox Corp.
As per Iger, the goal is to “make ESPN as accessible as possible and in as many ways as possible to the consumer.” Speaking in a call with investors yesterday, he went on to explain, “Some will want to consume it just through an app. Some will want to consume it as part of the more traditional, expanded, basic bundle. Some will migrate into in the direction of skinnier bundles or sports bundles only.”
Iger added: “What essentially happened is, after the decision was made and we started to implement the launch of Venu, the emergence of these skinnier bundles surfaced. Venu basically looked redundant to us. This was a great opportunity for us to make ESPN available on multiple skinny bundles and then to actually merge the Hulu live and the Fubo channel businesses into one.”
Yesterday’s call also contained some revelations about Disney+. Despite losing 700,000 subscribers in 2024, Disney claims that the service still managed to turn a profit. That service currently boasts a still impressive total of 124.6 million subscribers.
Do you think Disney should have gone ahead with Venu?
The post Bob Iger Finally Explains Why Disney Abruptly Axed Streaming Service, “Looked Redundant to Us” appeared first on Inside the Magic.
