Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Monday, January 6th, 2025:
DISNEY, FOX, AND WBD BUY THEIR WAY OUT OF A LAWSUIT THEY PROBABLY WOULD HAVE LOST
Fubo TV and Disney announced this morning that they "have entered into a definitive agreement for Disney to combine its Hulu + Live TV business with Fubo, forming the largest online TV subscription business in North America with 6.2 million customers."
As I talked about in my paid subscriber-only video earlier today, the word "combine" is doing a lot of work in this statement. The reality is that Disney is acquiring Fubo TV and in a way that makes the Fubo lawsuit against Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery go away.
I'm wildly glossing over the details, but Fubo TV sued Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery because they were set to launch Venu, a sports-centric app that would include all the sports rights licensed by the three companies as well as their live linear network feeds. In its filing, Fubo made the very valid point that the three media companies force everyone else (Fubo TV included) to agree to carriage deals that bundled their sports, entertainment and other linear channels into one take-it-or-leave-it package. Fubo asked to be given the same ability to only license sports-oriented channels, which would allow it to offer a smaller bundle of sports-oriented channels at a reduced cost.
Fubo was able to get a restraining order that blocked the launch of Venu, with the trial set to begin later this year. But that left both sides with serious problems. Fubo had a real shot at winning the case. But the streamer was struggling financially before the lawsuit was filed. It was now faced with the likelihood of spending millions of money it didn't have on lawyers. And if it won the lawsuit, the final resolution was likely several appeals and a number of years down the road. And in the meantime, Fubo's business model was not going to improve.
The big three media companies on the other side of the legal action had their own issues. They were looking to the launch of Venu as a way to eventually offset the continuing shrinkage of cable subscribers (although executives bizarrely continue to claim their target subscriber base is cord cutters, not current subscribers). The longer Venu's future was undecided, the more likely the market would move in some way they couldn't respond to with so much left up in the air.
But more importantly, the big three media companies were concerned about this legal action eventually leading to the unbundling of their cable business. It's not just that they would be forced to offer rivals the same deal as Venu was receiving (imagine Comcast using those channels to build a super sports Peacock). It was likely that at best they would be able to carve out some genre-specific bundles, but that would be it. Which, for instance, would allow for rivals to launch news-specific services. And as the cable bundle unraveled, it would become impossible to force cable providers to take marginal channels that no one wanted, but that also generated small but substantial in the aggregate subscriber fees.
So Disney - with help from Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery - threw money at the problem to make it go away and also preserve the cable bundle. Under the terms of the agreement, Disney will own 70% of Fubo. Fubo's current management team will operate both Fubo as well as Hulu Live TV. Both platforms will continue to operate separately, although some undefined backend functions will be consolidated (ie, job cuts are likely).
The deal also ends the litigation, and Disney, Fox and WBD will give Fubo $220 million when the deal closes. Disney will provide a $145 million loan to Fubo in 2026 as part of the deal. Should the merger fall apart, Disney will pay Fubo a termination fee of $130 million.
The settlement also includes an additional carriage agreement with Disney in which Fubo will gain access to key Disney sports networks such as ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, the ACC and SEC networks, and ESPN+. And talks are apparently ongoing to add the WBD linear channels back to Fubo. They had left the service in 2020 following a prolonged carriage dispute.
So in the end, Fubo investors get a financial lifeline and the three big media companies not only preserve the cable bundle, but also ensure that there won't be a viable streaming competitor for Venu Sports.
I'm going to be talking about this more in the coming days. But the government should step in and prevent this deal. It's bad for consumers and is anti-competitive. It's not clear how likely it is that a Donald Trump-controlled government is going to stand in the way of such an anti-consumer deal. But this feels like an appropriate spot for regulators to step in and draw a red line for this media company consolidations and mergers.
I WAS GOING TO WRITE ABOUT THE GOLDEN GLOBES
But honestly, I don't think I could do a better job of it than The Ankler's Richard Rushfield, who wrote a piece today that whacks away at the Globes as if it were a pinata (subscription required):
Last night’s Globes was the perfect event for the modern awards slog: pleasant, forgettable, self-serving, probably corrupt and meaningless. The night wasn’t the meltdown of last year’s Jo Koy-helmed show; they managed to pull off something resembling a normal, cookie-cutter awards night with a likable host, so we’ll call it a great success.
Critics seem happy with their award choices, so we can overlook that we have no clue anymore who “they” are. (Yes, I know the names of the Globes’ voting members are listed on the site, but really.) Or what this group represents beyond being foreigners handing out trophies in service of the conglomerate which on one hand, owns all the media that covers the Globes, and on the other, has a financial stake in one of the major producers of awards-bait films (A24).
Four days ago, I wrote that it would be very interesting if Todd Boehly’s Golden Globes gave one of its biggest prizes to the contender that Boehly very much wants to see succeed thanks to his early backing. “If the story of the Globes was an upset victory for The Brutalist,” I wrote, “that would be quite a shot in the arm as we go into the final stretch. Especially cozy when Daddy’s awards show can give a prize to one of his own kids.”
And while the various Penske owned-trades covered the Golden Globes with an unsettling combination of journalistic punching the clock and shameless self-congratulations, PMC-owned outlet IndieWire actually posted a couple of pieces that were somewhat harsh towards the event: "Who Did The 2025 Golden Globes Serve?" and "Golden Globes Review: A Good Night for Celebrity Surveillance, a Forgettable Night for Film (and TV)."
One last note about the Golden Globes. One reason why many of us are critical about a company (partnership) owning both events and the publications that cover the events is that even in the best of circumstances, corruption is almost inevitable. For instance, when I was writing about the changes going on at The Hollywood Reporter last year, I heard from someone at Penske who didn't want to talk on the record, but at end of the conversation mentioned that "oh, we should try and work together more in the future on things like SXSW and the Golden Globes." Maybe it was an innocent gesture, but it certainly felt a bit skeezy.
SPEAKING OF SKEEZY
I'm not sure if this an example of bad journalism or a clumsy marketing deal:
TWEET OF THE DAY
ODDS AND SODS
* This is the type of fun thing that existed on the internet 25 years ago: 17th Century Death Roulette.
* Season two of Gypsy Rose: Life After Lockup will premiere Monday, March 10th, 2025 on Lifetime.
* Did you know that one of the most prolific music critics in the country is a middle-aged dad who lives in New Hope, MN? Most recently, he was the story editor on the Max doc Yacht Rock: A DOCKumentary.
* Hollywood hoisted a white flag in the culture war on Sunday at the Golden Globe Awards (guest link)
WHAT'S NEW TONIGHT AND TOMORROW
MONDAY, JANUARY 6TH, 2025:
Brilliant Minds Spring Premiere (NBC)
Kids Baking Championship Season Premiere (Food)
I’m A Noble On The Brink Of Ruin, So I Might As Well Try Mastering Magic (Crunchyroll)
Medaka Kuroiwa Is Impervious To My Charms (Crunchyroll)
My Happy Marriage Season Two Premiere (Netflix) - (photo gallery)
Promise Of Wizard (Crunchyroll)
The 6000 lb. Diaries With Dr. Now Series Premiere (TLC)
TMZ Investigates: Luigi Mangione: The Mind Of A Killer (Fox)
WWE Raw 2025 Series Premiere (Netflix)
TUESDAY, JANUARY 7TH, 2025:
Betting On Paradise Series Premiere (HGTV)
Deal Or No Deal Island Season Two Premiere (Peacock)
Doc Series Premiere (Fox)
Finding Your Roots With Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Season Premiere (PBS)
Fixer To Fabulous Season Premiere (HGTV)
Gabriel Iglesias: Legend Of Fluffy (Netflix)
Help! I'm In A Secret Relationship! Season Premiere (MTV)
High Potential Spring Premiere (ABC)
Jerry Springer: Fights, Camera, Action (Netflix)
Love & Hip Hop Atlanta Season Premiere (MTV)
7 Little Johnstons Season Premiere (TLC)
The Breakthrough Series Premiere (Netflix)
The Irrational (NBC)
The Oval Season Premiere (BET)
The Rookie Spring Premiere (ABC)
Untamed Memory (Crunchroll)
Wildcard Kitchen Season Premiere (Food)
Will Trent Spring Premiere (ABC)
SEE YOU ON TUESDAY!