(Reuters) -Walt Disney Co and sports-focused streaming provider FuboTV are nearing a deal to combine their online live TV businesses, Bloomberg News reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Disney will fold its Hulu + Live TV business into FuboTV, creating a new venture that will be 70% owned by Disney and the rest by FuboTV, the report said.
Disney and FuboTV did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
Following the report, shares of FuboTV, which had a market value of about $480 million as of last close, surged nearly 32% to $1.90 in premarket trading. Disney was up marginally.
FuboTV’s shares had tanked more than 60% in 2024, as revenue growth slowed and competition intensified from bigger rivals.
As part of the deal, Fubo plans to drop its legal claims against Disney, Fox Corp and Warner Bros Discovery over Venu Sports, the report said, removing a hurdle to the roll-out of their upcoming sports streaming platform.
FuboTV had sued the big media companies last February, saying Venu would violate U.S. antitrust law by reducing competition and driving up prices. A district court judge found that Fubo is likely to succeed in its antitrust claims and issued the injunction temporarily barring Venu’s launch.
The three media majors will ask the U.S. Court of Appeals on Monday to reverse the ruling that blocked Venu’s launch.
The Bloomberg report said the deal does not include Hulu’s subscription video streaming business. While Hulu offers a library of on-demand streaming content, Hulu + Live TV provides consumers with access to Hulu content, along with more than 90 live TV channels.
An ad-supported Hulu + Live TV plan, which comes with content from Disney+ and ESPN+, is priced at $82.99 per month. Hulu also offers a “Live TV Only” option, which does not include the Hulu streaming library or access to Disney+ or ESPN+, for $81.99 a month.
(Reporting by Deborah Sophia in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
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