If you thought the streaming industry couldn’t get any messier, Disney and Fubo just teamed up to prove you wrong. In what feels like a plot twist from a reality show no one saw coming, Disney is merging its Hulu + Live TV service with Fubo to form a new mega live-TV streaming venture. And because Disney doesn’t do anything halfway, it’s snagging a 70% ownership stake, leaving Fubo holding the other 30%. So, yes, this is technically a “partnership,” but let’s not kid ourselves—this is Disney’s show, and Fubo is just happy to be here.

(Source: Giphy) 

Of course, this deal doesn’t touch Hulu’s subscription service, the one where you binge Only Murders in the Building and The Handmaid’s Tale. That’s staying safely in Disney’s vault of streaming dominance. Instead, this is about live TV—the cable replacement bundle that cord-cutters keep running back to because people like me still need their live sports and tinfoil hat breaking news fix. 

(Source: CNBC) 

For this reason, this whole thing feels like a marriage of convenience for Fubo. Especially since Fubo gets a chance to stop bleeding cash and claw its way out of irrelevance, while Disney gets to supercharge its position in the live TV streaming space without handling every headache itself. Together, the combined venture will boast a subscriber base of 6.2 million, making it the second-largest digital pay-TV provider, trailing only YouTube TV. Which is not too shabby at all. 

But, but, but… contrary to what the headlines say, this isn’t all kumbaya between Disney and Fubo. This deal also conveniently ends Fubo’s lawsuit against Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery over Venu Sports, the upcoming sports streaming platform that Fubo had been crying foul over. As part of the agreement, Fubo gets a $220 million cash payment to drop the case and a $145 million term loan from Disney. Oh, and if the whole thing falls apart? Fubo still gets a $130 million termination fee, which feels like the streaming industry’s equivalent of a friggin’ prenup.

(Source: TechCrunch) 

Disney’s play here? It’s the same strategy the company has been using for years: dominate every corner of the entertainment landscape. Hulu + Live TV has long been part of Disney’s bundle strategy (alongside Disney+ and ESPN+), but pairing it with Fubo gives the Mouse House a fresh way to keep cord-cutters locked into its ecosystem. For Fubo, this is nothing short of survival. The company’s been struggling with subscriber churn, expensive programming costs, and the fact that most people didn’t even know it existed unless they were hardcore sports fans. But now, with Disney’s backing and the promise of becoming “cash flow positive” (CEO David Gandler’s words, not mine), Fubo might finally have a shot at staying relevant in the streaming wars.

However, even with all of the promise here, this doesn’t magically solve the underlying issues plaguing live TV streaming. Subscriber growth is slowing, costs are rising, and it’s still unclear if any of these companies can make these services sustainably profitable. Sure, Disney and Fubo might be cash flow positive after this deal, but for how long? And how many more bundles and mergers will it take before the industry just looks like cable TV all over again, only this time with more apps and higher monthly bills?

At the end of the day, sure this is a big win for Disney, and a lifeline for Fubo. But with an industry that’s fighting for subscription dollars from people who are already SICK of too many subscriptions—only time will tell if this partnership ends in a thriving future or a catastrophic divorce. 

In the meantime, keep an eye out on the impact this news has on Disney shares (which are up 1.24% at the time of this writing). As always, stay safe and stay frosty, friends! Until next time… 

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Stocks.News holds positions in Disney as mentioned in the article.