Fubo and Hulu + Live TV Merger Passes Key Vote, Will Still Be Available Separately

As expected, Fubo shareholders voted in favor of the live TV streamer’s merger with Disney’s Hulu + Live TV today. Disney previously announced that standalone Hulu would be shutting down in 2026, but these two live TV providers will still exist separately.

According to Fubo’s news release, “Fubo and Hulu + Live TV will continue to be available to consumers as separate offerings post-closing.”

The company says the merger “will facilitate an enhanced choice of programming packages addressing a variety of consumer preferences at attractive price points.”

We would like to thank Fubo shareholders for voting to approve our business combination with Disney’s Hulu + Live TV business. The Transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions, but today we are one step closer to fulfilling our vision…

— david gandler (@davidgandler) September 30, 2025

After the merger, Disney will own 70% of the combined venture.

How Did We Get to This Point?

The path to this merger began when Disney hatched a plan to team up with Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery to offer a streamer called Venu Sports for $42.99/month. It would have had 14 linear networks: ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews, SEC Network, ACC Network, FOX, FS1, FS2, Big Ten Network, TNT, TBS, and truTV. It was also to include ESPN+.

But Fubo sued those companies, claiming that they were rigging their prices so providers like Fubo had to pay for channels they didn’t want (like Disney XD and Freeform) to get access to sports channels like ESPN.

A judge agreed with Fubo and issued a preliminary injunction in August of 2024. That brought Venu to a screeching halt.

The injunction itself is a fascinating read. It lays out some previously hidden secrets of the TV world.

• Sports networks cost $1.30 per subscriber per month to license
• Non-sports networks cost just 71 cents per subscriber per month
• ESPN costs TV services a whopping $9.42 per subscriber per month
• Regional Sports Networks cost between $3.50-$8.50 per subscriber per month
• TNT costs $3.00 per month per subscriber, but that will likely drop with the loss of the NBA

To prevent further legal headaches, Disney simply made the offer to buy Fubo and let Fubo’s CEO run the live TV business, at least for now.

Since the legal battle, Disney has launched ESPN Unlimited as a pared-down version of Venu, and you can bundle it with FOX One for $39.99. That left Warner Bros. Discovery in the dust, but since they lost the NBA, their sports package was diminished anyway.