(Reuters) – FuboTV’s antitrust trial against the launch of a new sports streaming service by Walt Disney, Fox and Warner Bros Discovery is set to begin on Oct. 6 next year, according to a court filing on Thursday.
A U.S. judge had temporarily blocked Venu Sports, a joint venture backed by the three media giants, after rival sports streaming service FuboTV accused them of antitrust practices that would prevent competition and lead to price hikes for customers.
Venu’s media partners could “exercise near-monopolistic control” over sports rights to prevent rivals from emerging, U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett had said last month.
Venu Sports, led by former Apple executive Pete Distad, is aiming for 5 million subscribers in the first five years and was expected to launch in the United States this fall.
The platform will be priced at $42.99 per month with a seven-day free trial, and was launched to attract younger viewers who are not tuned in to cable TV.
(Reporting by Harshita Mary Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)