fuboTV Drops A+E Networks Including A&E, History, & Lifetime From Channel Line-up
fuboTV alerted customers that as of June 30th, 2021, they will no longer carry six A+E Networks channels including, A&E, History Channel, Lifetime, FYI Channel, Lifetime Movie Network, and Vice TV.
In a statement to The Streamable, fuboTV said:
“It is always fuboTV’s mission to offer a leading package of premium sports, news and entertainment programming while also balancing value and keeping costs as low as possible for consumers. To stay aligned with this mission, A&E Networks have left fuboTV as of June 30, 2021.
Customers who streamed A&E Networks content on fuboTV can still enjoy a robust programming line-up of lifestyle, reality, documentaries and much more. With fuboTV’s base package of 100+ sports, news and entertainment channels, there is diverse content for everyone in the family to enjoy.”
| DTV STREAM | Fubo | Hulu | Philo | Sling TV | YouTube | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free Trial | Free Trial | Free Trial | Free Trial | Get 50% Off | Sign Up | |||
| $79.99 | $91.99 | $76.99 | $25 | $40 | $40 | $72.99 | ||
| A&E | + $29 | - | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | - | |
| FYI | + $40 | - | ✓ | ✓ | + $6 | + $6 | - | |
| History | + $29 | - | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | - | |
| Lifetime | + $29 | - | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | - | |
| Lifetime Movie Network | + $40 | - | ✓ | ✓ | + $6 | + $6 | - | |
| Vice TV | + $29 | - | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | - | |
The least expensive way to replace the channels is with Philo, which is available with a 7-Day Free Trial. They are also available on Sling TV ($35), Hulu Live TV ($64.99), and AT&T TV ($69.99). They have never been available on YouTube TV.
Exactly one year ago, fuboTV dropped Turner channels from the service, with similar messaging. At the time, they dropped the channels in order to add Disney-owned networks like ABC, ESPN, and Disney Channel.
It wouldn’t be surprising if the move was ahead of possible talks to bring Turner channels back to the platform. Being a sports-focused service, the company will likely have to consider adding back the channels with the NHL moving Turner starting this Fall.
In March, fuboTV CEO David Gandler was asked whether a sports service could be without March Madness – and whether TNT and TBS could return to the platform.
“Yes. There’s always potential. I mean we’re optimizing our bundles all the time. I think I’ve said even before we had ESPN, we would love to have every content provider because the more you have, the better. But there is a reality that this is supposed to be a relatively skinnier bundle.”
“96% of our users watch sports, so it allows us to amortize sports content in ways that other services can’t, given the more of a general entertainment-type audience that they have. We’re having discussions all the time, and hopefully, there’s an opportunity to bring them back at some point.”
With so much viewership on sports content, it’s not a surprise that fuboTV would be willing to forgo A+E Networks to save on content costs.