• Economy
  • Editor’s Pick
Money Rise Today – Investing and Stock News
  • Investing
  • Stock
Stock

Disney to combine its Hulu+ Live TV with streamer Fubo

by January 6, 2025
written by January 6, 2025

Disney will combine its Hulu+ Live TV service with Fubo, merging together two internet TV bundles, the companies announced on Monday.

Disney will become majority owner of the resulting company — the publicly traded Fubo company — with a 70% ownership stake. Fubo shareholders will own the remaining 30% of the company. The deal is expected to close in 12 to 18 months.

Both Hulu+ Live TV and Fubo are streaming services that mimic the traditional cable TV bundle, offering linear TV networks. Together the streaming services have 6.2 million subscribers.

Both services will still be available separately to consumers after the deal closes. Hulu+ Live TV can be streamed through the Hulu app, as well as part of Disney’s bundle that also includes Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN+.

The deal doesn’t include the streamer Hulu, known for creating original content like “Only Murders in the Building” and “The Handmaid’s Tale,” which competes with platforms like Netflix.

“We are now stewards of an iconic brand with respect to Hulu,” said Fubo co-founder and CEO David Gandler during a Monday call with investors. He added that Hulu+ Live TV’s place embedded inside the Hulu ecosystem adds value by way of user retention.

“Having two separate platforms today, obviously, it’s not ideal,” Gandler said during the call. “We believe there are synergies on the backend…But at the moment we really want to provide consumers with choice.”

Gandler noted that while Fubo has long been focused on offering sports and news, Hulu+ Live TV is known for its entertainment offerings, too.

Fubo is expected to become immediately cash flow positive following the deal close, “instantly making Fubo the major player in the streaming space,” Gandler said on Monday’s call.

Fubo stock, which closed Friday at just $1.44 per share, surged as much as 170% in early trading Monday before paring some gains.

Notably under the deal, Fubo and Disney have settled litigation regarding Venu, the proposed sports streaming service from Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery.

Fubo had brought a lawsuit against Disney, Fox and WBD alleging the service would be anticompetitive, and last year a U.S. judge temporarily blocked the launch of Venu.

When the Disney-Fubo deal is signed, Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery will together make a $220 million cash payment to Fubo. Disney will additionally commit a $145 million term loan to Fubo in 2026. If the deal were to fall through, Fubo would receive a $130 million termination fee.

The combined company will be led by Fubo’s management team including Gandler, while its new board of directors will be majority appointed by Disney.

Bloomberg reported earlier on Monday a deal to merge the live TV streaming services was imminent.

Fubo had 1.6 million subscribers in North America prior to the combination with Hulu+ Live TV and competes with other similar bundle platforms like Google’s YouTube TV.

However, Fubo has long focused its bundle on providing sports and news content. It is one of the last to offer a variety of regional sports networks, the channels that host the majority of professional local teams’ games and often beckon high fees from distributors.

As a result, Fubo has dropped entertainment-focused channels from its bundles including AMC Networks’ channels, as well as Warner Bros. Discovery’s TV networks.

Fubo executives said Monday the breadth of the newly combined company will give it more leverage in carriage discussions with other networks.

As part of the merger, the companies also announced Monday that Fubo and Disney entered into a new carriage agreement which allows for Fubo to create a new sports and broadcasting service that features Disney’s networks. During the investor call, Fubo said it also reached a new agreement with Fox.

Fubo’s focus on sports was a primary driver behind its lawsuit against Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox’s joint venture sports streaming service, Venu.

Venu, which had been slated to launch in time for the beginning of the NFL season in September, was to be a complete offering of sports networks and content from the three media companies that had come together to create it. The app would have cost $42.99 a month, showcasing the high cost of sports in the TV bundle and helping to avoid any disturbance of carriage agreements.

The judge on the case noted that together Disney, Fox and WBD control about 54% of all U.S. sports media rights, and at least 60% of all nationally broadcast U.S. sports rights.

Fubo had alleged in its lawsuit that Venu was anticompetitive and would upend its business. When the U.S. judge temporarily blocked the launch of Venu in August, it was a big win for Fubo. The trio of media companies appealed the court ruling.

With the settlement, Venu can move forward with its launch, although no plans were announced on Monday.

Disney, meanwhile, has multiple irons in the fire when it comes to ESPN streaming options. In addition to its current app, ESPN+, and Venu, ESPN plans to launch a flagship direct-to-consumer streaming app later this year.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS
0 comment
0
FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

previous post
Trump reacts to Trudeau resignation: ‘Many people in Canada LOVE being the 51st State’
next post
Mental health disorders attributed to more service member hospital stays than any other ailment: DoD

related articles

JPMorgan marks 1,000th branch opening since 2018 expansion...

August 1, 2025

Apple crushes Wall Street expectations as iPhone sales...

August 1, 2025

Ontario cancels internet deal with Musk’s Starlink as...

July 31, 2025

Trump ends de minimis exemption for global low-cost...

July 31, 2025

Recall warns some Celsius energy drink cans accidentally...

July 31, 2025

Union Pacific to buy Norfolk in $85 billion...

July 29, 2025

Things are getting better at Boeing under CEO...

July 29, 2025

Elon Musk confirms Tesla has signed a $16.5...

July 28, 2025

Palantir joins list of 20 most valuable U.S....

July 26, 2025

FCC greenlights Paramount’s $8 billion merger with entertainment...

July 25, 2025
Enter Your Information Below To Receive Free Trading Ideas, Latest News, And Articles.


Your information is secure and your privacy is protected. By opting in you agree to receive emails from us. Remember that you can opt-out any time, we hate spam too!

Latest News

  • S&P 500 futures hold steady as market braces for inflation report and Fed signals

    February 12, 2025
  • Kamala Harris to skip Netanyahu’s address to Congress, while top Dem senator boycotts altogether

    July 23, 2024
  • Tariff threat looms over the year’s biggest electronics show

    January 9, 2025
  • Ted Cruz wants Uncle Sam to give each American baby $1,000

    May 13, 2025
  • The price of natural gas is rising ahead of the coming storm

    September 11, 2024

Popular Posts

  • 1

    Secret Service admits leaning on ‘state and local partners’ after claim it ignored Trump team’s past requests

    July 21, 2024
  • 2

    Five more House Democrats call on Biden to drop out, third US senator

    July 19, 2024
  • 3

    Elon and Vivek should tackle US funding for this boondoogle organization and score a multimillion dollar win

    December 4, 2024
  • 4

    Forex Profit Calculator: Maximize Your Trading Potential

    July 10, 2024
  • 5

    Biden calls to ‘lower the temperature’ then bashes Trump in NAACP speech

    July 17, 2024

Categories

  • Economy (829)
  • Editor's Pick (5,602)
  • Investing (634)
  • Stock (867)

Latest Posts

  • Starmer says UK to recognize Palestinian state if Israel doesn’t agree to ceasefire, Hamas must ‘disarm’

    July 29, 2025
  • Romania blocks frontrunner from postponed presidential race

    March 10, 2025
  • After debilitating strikes, Trump tells Houthis: Stop shooting at us and ‘we will stop shooting at you’

    March 31, 2025

Recent Posts

  • Jerome Powell asks inspector general to review Fed’s $2.5B renovation project

    July 15, 2025
  • EURAUD and EURNZD: EURNZD could slip to a new weekly low

    July 30, 2024
  • Hertz says 2024 hack exposed some customers’ driver license and credit card data

    April 15, 2025

Editor’s Pick

  • Trump’s fresh White House portrait sparks interest amid controversy over National Portrait Gallery leadership

    June 3, 2025
  • Nvidia overtakes Apple as world’s most valuable company

    October 28, 2024
  • Trump picks former congressman Pete Hoekstra to be ambassador to Canada

    November 21, 2024
  • About us
  • Contacts
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions

Disclaimer: moneyrisetoday.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

Copyright © 2025 moneyrisetoday.com | All Rights Reserved

Money Rise Today – Investing and Stock News
  • Economy
  • Editor’s Pick
Money Rise Today – Investing and Stock News
  • Investing
  • Stock