Fubo drops Warner Bros. Discovery networks amidst carriage dispute

Fubo subscribers attempting to watch content on Warner Bros. Discovery networks will be out of luck this week.

On Tuesday, Fubo announced that several WBD-owned networks had been dropped from its lineup amidst a carriage dispute.

In a release, Fubo pointed the finger at WBD (as you’d expect), blaming the company for offering “above market rates” and accusing the company of refusing to remove networks from a bundle.

Here’s the full statement .

Fubo has attempted to renew with Warner Brothers Discovery our Discovery content agreement for its networks including Discovery, HGTV, Food Network and TLC, among others, and to obtain license rights for its Turner sports networks TNT, TBS and truTV. Fubo offered Warner Brothers Discovery market rates for its content and, despite Fubo’s efforts to negotiate in good faith, Warner Brothers Discovery did not provide any counteroffer, and insisted on continuing to offer us above-market rates for its content. Fubo views Warner Brothers Discovery’s refusal to engage in good faith negotiations as another example of its abuse of massive market power that ultimately limits consumer choice.

It is always Fubo’s mission to offer a leading package of premium sports, news and entertainment content while also providing value and keeping costs as low as possible for consumers.

Warner Bros. Discovery has also denied our customers the choice of subscribing to their Turner sports content separately from Discovery content through a more affordable skinny sports bundle. Yet Warner Bros. Discovery has announced that it plans to make this must-have content available in its forthcoming sports streaming joint venture with The Walt Disney Company and FOX Corp.

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. These practices, outlined in our recent antitrust lawsuit filed against the joint venture companies, aim to monopolize the market, stifle any form of competition, create higher pricing for subscribers and cheat consumers from deserved choice. Fubo is taking action against these unfair market terms to avoid passing on these extra costs to consumers.

It is clear to us that Warner Bros. Discovery’s actions hurt consumer wallets and limit their choice. As a result, Warner Bros. Discovery networks have left Fubo as of April 30, 2024 at 5pm ET.

The dropped networks include, among others, Discovery Channel, Food Network, HGTV, TLC, Animal Planet, Travel Channel, Investigation Discovery, OWN, and Motor Trend.

WBD also issued a statement about Fubo dropping the networks.

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.

Back in the summer of 2020 , Fubo dropped 11 WarnerMedia networks (which were originally added two years earlier ), including TBS, TNT, and truTV, and also raised its price by $5 per month. Currently, Fubo costs $79.99 per month for its “pro” package, its least expensive English-language plan.

Fubo is also suing Disney, Fox, and WBD over the sports streaming joint venture. U.S. Representatives sent a letter to the three companies in April , seeking information about the service.

An earlier version of this article incorrectly assumed TBS, TNT, and truTV had been re-added to Fubo, when they had not. We regret the error.

[ Fubo ]

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