Major mergers and acquisitions mark first week of 2025
Hulu + Live TV & Fubo to merge, allowing Venu Sports launch
In the US, Hulu + Live TV and sport streaming service Fubo are to merge, with Disney to hold a 70% stake in the joint venture.
Fubo CEO and co-founder David Gandler and the Fubo’s existing management team will lead the newly created service, which becomes the second largest internet pay-TV company in North America, behind YouTube TV, with around $6 billion in revenue and 6.2 million subscribers.
As part of the agreement, Fubo will drop its lawsuit against Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery over the creation of its Venu Sports streaming service. The three companies will pay Fubo $220 million in cash, with Disney adding a $145 million loan to this in 2026. There is also a termination fee of $130 million payable to Fubo under certain circumstances, including if the transaction fails to close due to the failure to obtain requisite regulatory approvals on the terms and conditions set forth in the definitive agreement.
DAZN to acquire Australian broadcaster Foxtel
Global sports streamer DAZN has agreed to buy a majority stake in Australian pay-TV operator Foxtel Group from News Corp and Telstra, in a deal valued at A$3.4bn (£1.7bn) including debt.
Len Blavatnik’s DAZN will also gain control of Foxtel’s sport streamer Kayo and set-top box Hubbl, plus a raft of sporting rights including domestic and international cricket, Australian Football League and National Rugby League.
The deal also includes general entertainment streamer Binge, the home of hit romcom Colin From Accounts and forthcoming dramedy The Last Anniversary, as well as HBO shows.
News Corp, which had owned 65% of Foxtel, will take a 6% stake in DAZN as part of the agreement, while Telstra, which had owned a 35% stake in the pay-TV firm, will gain a 3% interest in the sports streaming company.
(See the full story on our sister site, Broadcast International)
PGA Tour launches PGA Tour Studios
The PGA Tour has opened a 165,000 sq ft production hub in Florida, USA.
Located next door to the organisation’s headquarters, the studio now houses all PGA Tour media operations, including live production of PGA Tour Champions, Korn Ferry Tour, more than 5,000 hours of PGA Tour Live on ESPN+, as well as the Tour’s 50+ original, social and digital media platforms. It is also home to its archive of 170,000 videos totalling 223,000 hours of content.
PGA Tour Studios includes eight production rooms, eight audio control rooms and seven LED-outfitted studios, including a 270-degree LED display in Studio 1A. The studios are capable of monitoring and displaying thousands of video and audio feeds, capturing action from up to 144 cameras or live feeds, and have a custom-built video review center with access to all camera feeds for live, on-air rulings, a 34-seat theater to screen all the latest Tour content projects, studio-specific booths for podcasts and, coming in 2026, PGA Tour Radio. It also houses golf and culture content creator Pro Shop.
It has already produced The Sentry tournament for ESPN+, and its first original content from its virtual set in Studio 1A, featuring Tiger Woods.
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