Fubo says its been unable to renew a carriage agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) meaning Discovery, HGTV, Food Network and TLC are no longer available from the US streaming service.
Fubo, which focusses on live sports steaming, has been seeking retransmission rights for Turner sports networks TNT, TBS and truTV. Fubo says it offered WBD market rates for its content but the media company continued to offer “above-market rates” for its content.
“Fubo views Warner Brothers Discovery’s [sic] refusal to engage in good faith negotiations as another example of its abuse of massive market power that ultimately limits consumer choice.
“Warner Bros. Discovery’s refusal to offer Fubo standard market terms and packaging flexibility are more examples of the unfair and anti-competitive practices it and other vertically integrated media companies have imposed on Fubo for many years.”
Fubo is currently in dispute with WBD and partners ESPN/Disney and Fox over the launch of a combined streaming service. It argues the combination of the partners various sports interests is anticompetitive.
A spokesperson for Warner Bros. Discovery told Broadband TV News: “Our priority is to deliver the best content, at the best value, to our fans wherever they want to watch it. We have been and remain ready and willing to work diligently with Fubo to reach a fair market agreement. We proposed an extension of our current agreement, with no changes or price increases, that would allow Fubo to continue carrying these networks, and it is unfortunate that Fubo has decided to alienate their own customers in this way.
“Our priority is to deliver the best content, at the best value, to our fans wherever they want to watch it. We have been and remain ready and willing to work diligently with Fubo to reach a fair market agreement. We proposed an extension of our current agreement, with no changes or price increases, that would allow Fubo to continue carrying these networks, and it is unfortunate that Fubo has decided to alienate their own customers in this way.”
