ESPN, Fox, WBD end plans for sports streaming app Venu. Here's what it means for IndyCar fans

ESPN, Fox, WBD end plans for sports streaming app Venu. Here’s what it means for IndyCar fans

Posted by Admin January 10, 2025 Sports

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IndyCar fans who had been counting on Venu Sports, the streaming package from ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery, to fill the gap left by NBC’s Peacock platform will need to make other plans for 2025. It was announced Friday that plans to launch Venu Sports have been discontinued “effective immediately.”

The first-of-its kind sports streaming platform was set to include live sports offerings from 14 networks — ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SEC Network, ACC Network, ESPNEWS, ABC, FOX, FS1, FS2, Big Ten Network, TNT, TBS, truTV — as well as ESPN+, and subscribers to Venu would’ve had access to more than 60% of the nationally-broadcast college and professional sports rights.

For diehard American open-wheel racing fans that made IndyCar practice and qualifying sessions appointment TV, but no longer had traditional cable bundles, Venu was the only way they could watch every minute of on-track IndyCar action domestically with the switch from NBC to Fox.

To the frustration of many fans, though, it was set to come at a steep price. Since the launch of NBC’s exclusive media rights deal with IndyCar in 2019, fans could purchase some form of digital or streaming subscription — the NBC Sports Gold IndyCar pass (2019-20) or Peacock Premium — for as little as $4.99/month. Even at peak prices, fans typically could’ve secured Peacock during the 2024 season for under $10 a month, or less than $70 for the entire season.

Though most races landed on network TV, Peacock offered access to those races along with IndyCar practice and qualifying sessions, as well as the Peacock-only races on the calendar (two in 2024) and all Indy NXT on-track action. The subscription was also key for cord-cutters for the handful of races that landed on cable, allowing fans to watch those races — or any time a race was booted from network TV due to a conflict.

IndyCar’s new multi-year deal with Fox includes airing all 17 races on network TV (along with a pair of windows for Indy 500 qualifying) — making it one of just two major racing series in the country (along with NASCAR’s Xfinity series on The CW) with network-only race windows — and eliminated the need for streaming to watch races live. Digital antennas are a cheap, largely successful option for those living within a reasonable distance of a local Fox affiliate.

But by moving practice and qualifying action, as well as all on-track sessions for Indy NXT, to its cable offerings of FS1 and FS2, combined with the fact that Fox remains the only national network TV company without a direct-to-consumer streaming option, IndyCar fans living in the U.S. were left with a Venu Sports subscription (at an introductory cost of $42.99 per month) or finding access to Fox’s sports cable channels at monthly costs greater than Venu’s for the same IndyCar viewing experience.

And now, according to a joint statement issued by ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery, that product will not happen: “After careful consideration, we have collectively agreed to discontinue the Venu Sports joint venture and not launch the streaming service. In an ever-changing marketplace, we determined that it was best to meet the evolving demands of sports fans by focusing on existing products and distribution channels. We are proud of the work that has been done on Venu to date and grateful to the Venu staff, whom we will support through this transition period.”

Venu Sports had been embattled almost since the project was revealed in February of last year. Streaming competitor Fubo sued the joint venture, claiming that its owners had violated U.S. anti-trust laws by launching a sports-specific sports streaming service while essentially barring Fubo from doing so for years. They forced the platform, Fubo said, to carry non-sports channels owned by Disney, Fox and WBD in order to also carry its sports cable offerings. Those practices then led to bundles full of channels customers didn’t want, being sold at higher prices had Fubo been allowed to license from the three defendants the channels it wished to offer.

The lawsuit barred Venu from its planned launch in the back-half of last year, though the lawsuit was abruptly dropped earlier this week when Disney agreed to purchase a majority stake in Fubo and merge its own Hulu + Live TV service with Fubo to create a new live TV streaming offering. Venu Sports partners also agreed to pay Fubo $220 million in addition to a $145 million loan from Disney to Fubo scheduled for next year.

In the wake of the settlement, though, lawyers for DirecTV and Dish pushed back and asked the judge on the case not to drop the lawsuit, alleging that Disney “purchased their way out of their anti-trust violation.” Whether the additional pressure played into the joint venture’s axing is unclear.

Moving forward, IndyCar fans can still use Fox Sports’ mobile and streaming app, but the ability to watch live content typically calls for authenticating one’s digital subscription to another cable (or cable-like) platform in order to gain access.