It has been officially announced this morning that Hulu + Live TV will be merging with Fubo, which will also give Disney a 70% ownership of Fubo.
What makes this even more interesting is that last year, Disney, FOX Sports, and Warner Brothers. Discovery (WBD) attempted to create a new live TV streaming service dedicated to sports fans called Venu Sports.
Venu Sports was reported to have a starting monthly cost of $42.99 a month. It was intended to launch last fall, but due to the lawsuit from Fubo, the launch of the service never commenced.
Channels that were said to be included in Venu Sports were the following: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, ESPNEWS, ABC, FOX, FS1, FS2, BTN, TNT, TBS, truTV, and ESPN+.
That channel lineup alone is enough to entice some sports fans to make the switch over to Venu Sports once it launches and if it launches as previously planned. However, it is worth noting that the lineup does not include NBC, NBC Sports regional sports networks (RSNs), CBS, nor CBS Sports Network.
With that said, that is where Hulu + Live TV and Fubo could assist, as both of them do have local NBC and CBS stations, as well as CBS Sports Network. Only Fubo currently has streaming access to NBC Sports RSNs, though.
However, now that the Fubo-Disney lawsuit has been settled, Venu Sports can launch whenever it wants now. On top of that, while Hulu + Live TV and Fubo will be merged or combined as one, they will both work and function as two standalone live TV streaming services.
This additionally opens the door to Fubo creating some form of sports streaming bundle on its service for users and new consumers.
Hulu + Live TV currently starts at $82.99 a month which includes ad-supported Disney+ and ESPN+, and Fubo currently costs $79.99 a month. Both services are available to stream on the iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, and Mac.
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