富宝起诉华特迪士尼公司和福克斯公司.华纳兄弟. 反垄断实践的发现和附属机构
伏波TV公司. (d/b/a/ 伏波)(纽约证券交易所代码:伏波), 领先的体育电视直播平台, 提起反垄断诉讼 华特迪士尼公司, 福克斯公司., 华纳兄弟. 发现公司. 以及他们的附属机构, alleging that the vertically-integrated media companies have engaged in a years-long campaign to block 伏波’s innovative sports-first streaming business resulting in significant harm to both 伏波 and consumers. The complaint alleges that the forthcoming launch of a sports-streaming joint venture steals 伏波’s playbook and is the latest example of this campaign.
The Company claims that the Defendants have engaged in a long-running pattern of stymying 伏波’s sports-first streaming service by engaging in anti-competitive practices. 伏波 was founded nine years ago to offer consumers a sports-first package of live TV streaming channels as a less expensive alternative to traditional cable bundles. 然而, 如投诉所述, “几十年, Defendants have leveraged their iron grip on sports content to extract billions of dollars in supra-competitive profits” by engaging in practices causing consumers to pay more for highly popular sports content and resulting in significant damages to both 伏波 and its customers.
伏波’s complaint describes the tactics the Defendants have taken to prevent 伏波 from competing fairly in the marketplace. Such practices as outlined in 伏波’s legal papers include unfair “bundling” - forcing 伏波 to carry dozens of expensive non-sports channels that 伏波’s customers do not want as a condition of licensing the Defendants’ sports channels.
Other examples of anti-competitive behavior cited in the complaint include the Defendants charging 伏波 content licensing rates that are as much as 30%-50%+ higher than rates they charge 其它经销商. Defendants also impose non-market penetration requirements (the percentage of total subscribers to which a content package must be sold to or cannot exceed) on 伏波. 这些单独或共同的行为增加了富宝必须转嫁给客户的成本. 伏波 believes it has incurred billions of dollars in damages as a result of the Defendants’ actions.
另外, 伏波 claims the Defendants have restricted 伏波 from offering compelling streaming products that consumers would find desirable, 尽管其他传统付费电视和流媒体服务也提供了类似的产品, 包括被告自己的Hulu服务.
伏波 further alleges that the Defendants’ recently announced joint venture is simply the latest coordinated step in the Defendants’ campaign to eliminate competition in the sports-first streaming market and capture this market for themselves.
富博的诉状称，被告联手阻止进一步的竞争. 每个被告都是一家传媒集团拥有重要的体育内容, 根据投诉, 是否个别从事针对富博的反竞争行为，对消费者造成损害. 被告总共控制了美国一半以上的石油公司.S. 体育版权市场. By combining to license their must-have sports content on a standalone basis to their own joint venture, 其它经销商, 包括伏波, 将处于极端的竞争劣势，损害数百万美国人的利益.S. 消费者，根据投诉.
富博联合创始人兼首席执行官David Gandler评论道:
“Each of these companies has consistently engaged in anticompetitive practices that aim to monopolize the market, 扼杀任何形式的竞争, 为订阅者设定更高的价格，欺骗消费者应得的选择. By joining together to exclusively reserve the rights to distribute a specialized live sports package, we believe these corporations are erecting insurmountable barriers that will effectively block any new competitors from entering the market. This strategy ensures that consumers desiring a dedicated sports channel lineup are left with no alternative but to subscribe to the Defendants’ joint venture.
“We have previously collaborated with each of these companies so that we could offer ‘must-have’ sports content to 伏波 customers. 多年来，他们利用每一个机会通过有害的做法挑战我们的业务. 而其他新的竞争者被阻止进入市场, 富博一直在反击. 被告的不道德行为影响了我们的成长能力并剥夺了 消费者对一个引人注目的和有竞争力的价格产品.
“简单地说, this sports cartel blocked our playbook for many years and now they are effectively stealing it for themselves.
“沉默不再是一种选择. 体育赛事直播在2023年占据了电视收视率, 前100个广播节目中有97个, highlights the critical importance of sports in entertainment and the necessity for its broad dissemination. 有报道称，美国司法部(Department of Justice)打算调查这家合资企业，这令人鼓舞, 它证明了这一联盟将产生的潜在负面和广泛影响.
“伏波寻求 equal treatment in terms of pricing and all relevant conditions from these media giants to ensure we can compete fairly for the benefit of consumers. Our customers deserve access to a competitively priced offering with innovative features designed by 伏波 for an unparalleled sports viewing experience.”
在诉状中, 伏波寻求, 除此之外, 禁止合资经营或, 在另一种情况下, 要求当事各方对被告施加限制以便进行诉讼, 例如许可条款的经济平价以及被告的实质性损害赔偿.
有关富博和流媒体领域的更多信息，请参阅 公司的介绍 在其 投资者关系网站.
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