Earlier this month, Fox, Warner Bros and Disney-owned ESPN announced that they would work together on a "mega" sports streaming service that would (hopefully) take the frustration out of live sports streaming However, it appears that the three companies must now deal with an antitrust lawsuit from Fubo

Fubo is a "sports first" streaming service, known for airing international sports and offering a vast array of channels Although pricey, we like Fubo enough to add it to our list of best streaming services and best cable TV alternatives Needless to say, there are obvious reasons not to be pleased with this new sports streaming conglomerate

In a statement released by Fubo, the company accuses Disney, Fox, and Warner Brothers of a "multi-year campaign to block Fubo's innovative sports-first streaming business" The company claims that restrictive licensing terms are anti-consumer practices, forcing customers to "pay more for popular sports content"

Fubo claims markups that are 30-50% higher than what other distributors are charged

Fubo also claims that the three networks force Fubo to broadcast "dozens of expensive non-sports channels" if it wants to provide access to sports In other words, Fubo claims that this new sports streaming merger is simply an attempt to drive competitors out of the live sports market

All three companies own half of the rights to live sports broadcasts in the US and claim that joining forces will put other smaller sports streaming services at a major disadvantage David Gandler, co-founder and CEO of Fubo, says, "Simply put simply, this sports cartel has been blocking our playbook for years, and now they are effectively stealing it for themselves"

The purpose of litigation is to level the playing field This includes providing "equal treatment in prices and all related terms and conditions" to ensure that fair competition is possible If that means discouraging partnerships altogether, so be it

Accessing sports coverage without cable is a nightmare of sorts, given the way rights are distributed among platforms Therefore, it is understandable that some people would be interested in a service that offers sports content in bulk for a single monthly fee

At the same time, the lack of competition does not bode well for consumers, as it allows large companies to do whatever they want and charge whatever they want

[16] So it is understandable that the ESPN and Warner Bros/Fox partnership makes companies like Fubo rather nervous Whether their claims will stand up to scrutiny in court, however, is another matter entirely