Today, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler and Representative Joaquin Castro (D-TX) addressed a letter to the Chief Executive Officers of the Walt Disney Company, Warner Bros. Discovery, and FOX. They sought more information about the companies’ new joint sports streaming venture (“JV”). The unnamed JV, which was announced in February and is expected to debut this fall, unites the three most dominant programmers in the sports streaming space. Collectively, they own the rights to 80 percent of all sports streaming content.
The letter explains that as programmers, these companies have significant influence over pricing in the live sports TV ecosystem. Upstream, programmers negotiate content licensing deals with sports leagues like the National Football League and the National Basketball Association. Downstream, programmers determine the terms on which video distributors can license programmers’ sports channels.
Concerned about the potential impact of this consolidation, Nadler and Castro express worries that it may lead to higher prices for consumers and less fair licensing terms for both sports leagues and video distributors. To investigate this further, the members have requested the companies to provide more information about the JV’s pricing, intent, and organizational structure.
The companies have been given until April 30 to respond via email and are asked to copy the Department of Justice in their reply. The purpose of these questions is to determine whether the JV will reduce competition and harm consumers. The full copy of the letter can be read on the House Judiciary Committee’s website.