August 16, 2024—ACA Connects President and CEO Grant Spellmeyer released the following statement regarding a judge blocking Venu, the anticompetitive sports streaming service by Walt Disney Co., Fox Corp. and Warner Bros. Discovery Inc.
“As ACA Connects said from the start, this sports streaming juggernaut is blatantly anticompetitive. There should be a level playing field in the sports media landscape without the threat of these media giants controlling the marketplace and jacking up prices.
“For years, ACA Connects Members have tried to offer our customers the programming they want—but only the programming they want—at reasonable prices. But programmers force them instead to take bloated and expensive bundles of programming. It’s unfair.
“All we want is what Disney, Fox, and WB Discovery want to do themselves—to be able give our customers what they want. It’s long past time that they let us do so. It’s what fans deserve to watch the sports they love at affordable prices.”
About ACA Connects: America’s Communications Association –America’s Communications Association – ACA Connects is a trade organization representing more than 500 smaller and medium-sized, independent companies that provide broadband, video, and phone services covering 31.9 million households, 7.3 million of which are located in rural and smaller suburban markets across America. ACA Connects Members operate in every state, providing advanced communications to connect homes, companies, main street, schools, hospitals and more. America’s economic prosperity in smaller communities and rural areas depends on the growth and success of ACA Connects Members, who believe a connected nation is a prosperous nation.