April 16, 2024

Castro, Nadler Raise Competition Concerns with Disney-FOX-WBD Joint Sports Streaming Venture

WASHINGTON — Today, Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20) and Congressman Jerrold Nadler (NY-12), the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to the Chief Executive Officers of the Walt Disney Company, Warner Bros. Discovery, and FOX, seeking more information about the companies’ new joint sports streaming venture (“JV”). The unnamed JV, which was announced in February 2024 and is expected to debut this fall, unites the three most dominant programmers in the sports streaming space, which collectively own the rights to 80 percent of all sports streaming content. 

“As programmers, your companies exert tremendous influence over pricing across the live sports TV ecosystem. Upstream, programmers negotiate content licensing deals with sports leagues like the National Football League and the National Basketball Association for the media rights to their sports events. Downstream, programmers determine the terms on which video distributors may license programmers’ sports channels,” the members wrote. “The Joint Venture raises questions about how this new offering would affect access, competition, and choice in the sports streaming market. Without more complete information about the pricing, intent, and organization of this new venture, we are concerned that this consolidation will result in higher prices for consumers and less fair licensing terms for upstream sports leagues and downstream video distributors.”

In the letter, the members request a response by April 30. A full copy of the letter can be viewed here.

Congressman Joaquin Castro has been a leading congressional voice on antitrust concerns related to the media and entertainment industry. Additional background information on his recent work can be found here.