Sports Streaming giants team up, raise concern for competition and consumer rights

In February, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler and Representative Joaquin Castro (D-TX) sent a letter to the Chief Executive Officers of the Walt Disney Company, Warner Bros. Discovery, and FOX. They are seeking more information about the companies’ new joint sports streaming venture (“JV”). The unnamed JV brings together the three most dominant programmers in the sports streaming space and is expected to debut this fall.

The members explain that as programmers, these companies have a lot of influence over pricing in the live sports TV ecosystem. They negotiate content licensing deals with sports leagues such as the NFL and NBA for media rights to sports events. Additionally, they determine the terms under which video distributors may license their sports channels.

Concerned about the potential impact of this consolidation on consumers, the members are seeking more information about the pricing, intent, and organization of this new venture. They are worried that this consolidation could lead to higher prices for consumers and less fair licensing terms for sports leagues and video distributors.

To assess the impact of the JV on competition and consumers, the members have asked