A major sports streaming collaboration between Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS, ETR:WDP)’s ESPN, Fox Corp (NASDAQ:FOXA) and Warner Bros Discovery Inc (NASDAQ:WBD, ETR:J5A) will be interrogated under US antitrust regulations, according to reports.
Quoting “two people familiar with the matter”, Bloomberg reported that the Department of Justice is concerned that the joint venture could harm consumers, media rivals and even sports leagues.
They said the regulators will consider the proposals once the final terms are published.
Under plans announced earlier this month, viewers will have access to the breadth of sports content owned by the three media giants, including FIFA World Cup, Formula 1, NFL, PGA, UFC, NBA Major League Baseball (MLB) and other major events on the sporting calendar, including college sport.
Disney boss Bob Iger called the project "a major win for sports fans, and an important step forward for the media business".
“This means the full suite of ESPN channels will be available to consumers alongside the sports programming of other industry leaders as part of a differentiated sports-centric service,” he added.
The joint venture hopes to recapture the portion of the market turning away from broadcast television in favour of streaming platforms.