Boardroom breaks down a huge week in sports media for Netflix, Disney, Fox, Warner Bros. Discovery, Fubo, WWE, Unrivaled, TGL, Amazon, and LOVB.
The first full week of 2025 brought with it a massive milestone for one streaming giant, a monumental acquisition that ended with a shocking twist, two huge innovative league launches, and a first for a tech Goliath that’s been more than seven years in the making.
On Monday, Netflix launched its 10-year, $5 billion global media rights deal with its first edition of WWE’s Raw, a star-studded spectacle from Los Angeles that drew an estimated 4.9 million viewers around the world and 2.3 million in the US. In addition to pulling off a Christmas Day NFL doubleheader, breaking the steamer’s all-time Dec. 25 internal audience record in the process, Netflix has now distanced itself from its error-riddled Jake Paul–Mike Tyson fight card from November and emerged as a viable host for the biggest live events and properties across sports and entertainment, most notably the FIFA Women’s World Cup‘s US rights in 2027 and 2031.
Earlier Monday, Disney took a 70% stake in multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD) Fubo in exchange for a $145 million loan extending next year, and $220 million paid by Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery to settle litigation initiated by Fubo last summer that halted the launch of sports streaming joint venture Venu that was set to debut in the fall. Fubo had claimed the planned skinny bundle from the aforementioned trio of corporations would violate antitrust laws, but this settlement now exacerbates the same anti-competitive problem it sued for in the first place.
With other MVPD competitors like DirecTV and Dish signaling they could revive Fubo’s antitrust case, the three companies put out a stunning statement Friday morning that Venu would be discontinued effective immediately and not launch.
“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,” the companies said in a statement.
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Perhaps Venu was shuttered because Disney, Fox, and WBD would still have to fight for its life in court even with the Fubo settlement. Perhaps the juice ultimately wasn’t worth the squeeze in an already crowded streaming market that would limit the impact and revenue Venu would eventually generate.
For Disney, Fubo will combine with Hulu + Live TV to challenge YouTube TV in the MVPD market. WBD will now likely redouble its efforts on Max and expand TNT Sports‘ reach with live rights to replace the loss of the NBA. Fox still has its successful free service, Tubi, and is probably most hurt by Venu’s failure to launch.
Even if it was just the Fubo/Venu saga that took place this week, it would’ve already been an incredibly consequential week in sports media, but the transformational week had far more in store.
On Tuesday, 919,000 viewers tuned in to ESPN to watch Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, and the PGA Tour’s tech-forward golf simulator league TGL, a fascinating test case to see if golf can evolve and reach a younger and more casual demographic. Despite a blowout win by Bay Golf Club over New York Golf Club, it’s an intriguing format over a shorter window of time than a traditional golf match. It will be interesting to see if viewership improves over time.
Earlier that day, Unrivaled and TNT announced a sensational group of broadcast talent for the elite three-on-three women’s basketball league launching next week, led by Candace Parker, Lauren Jbara, and Renee Montgomery anchoring studio coverage; Brendan Glasheen, Lisa Leslie, and Sarah Kustok calling games; and a team of reporters including Allie LaForce, Taylor Rooks, Stephanie Ready, and Ros Gold-Onwude.
“We’re thrilled to tip off our inaugural season with such legendary talent across all levels of the women’s basketball space,” Micky Lawler, Unrivaled’s Commissioner, said in a press release. “Their voices will bring much-needed analysis and perspective to the revolutionary version of basketball Unrivaled, and TNT are bringing to fans this year.”
The following night, League One Volleyball debuted on ESPN+, fulfilling a years-long effort to bring American professional women’s volleyball to the masses. After launching in 2020 as a grassroots youth volleyball organization that’s grown to more than 14,000 athletes across 61 locations, LOVB created a six-team pro league with clubs in Atlanta, Austin, Houston, Madison, Omaha, and Salt Lake City. ESPN’s family of networks will broadcast the action.
“At LOVB, we are focused on creating a direct connection between current and new audiences and the sport of volleyball. Airing our historic first serve on ESPN+ and all 60 of our league matches across ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN+, DAZN, Women’s Sports Network, and LOVB Live, will be instrumental in making this happen,” Rosie Spaulding, LOVB Pro’s President, told Boardroom. “As the sport of volleyball continues to infiltrate the cultural zeitgeist, we are thrilled to be at the center of this movement, bringing the best of the best in the sport to audiences everywhere.”
On Saturday, Amazon’s Prime Video will exclusively stream its first-ever NFL Playoff game when the Baltimore Ravens host the rival Pittsburgh Steelers. The matchup, at a reported cost of $120 million, is the culmination of Amazon’s efforts to provide Prime subscribers with live football that began with non-exclusively streaming Thursday night NFL games in 2017 before fully acquiring the rights in a 12-year, $12 billion deal that began in 2022. Earlier in the week, Amazon confirmed that Rooks, Dirk Nowitzki, and Blake Griffin would lead NBA studio coverage when its rights package begins in the fall. Acquiring the NBA media rights represents one of the biggest IP victories in the company’s history.
All told, sports media collectively packed months’ worth of transformation, historic debuts, and enormous acquisitions into one wild week, setting the tone for what should be an incredibly consequential, action-packed year to come.
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