Parental controls are the feature Fubo needs to add most
Parental controls are the feature Fubo needs to add most
Fubo doesn’t offer any real way to keep kids away from adult content, and it’s time for that to change.
As most sports fans already know, Fubo comes with a wide range of cool features for lovers of big games. It offers a multiview on select devices, options like Key Moments to help you stay caught up on momentum-changing plays from your top teams, and even 4K streaming ability on select plans.
As I’ve explored the Fubo service over the years, there was really only one feature I found missing from the platform, which surprised me: parental controls. Fubo offers no parental controls of any kind, a fact which I confirmed with a representative of the company just to make sure. This is definitely an area where I think Fubo could improve; in fact, parental controls are the feature I think Fubo should add the most.
Most streaming services offer parental guardrails of some kind to keep kids away from TV or movies they shouldn’t be watching. Some use barriers like kids’ profiles that automatically set age restrictions, while others let parents customize the age range of available content, protected by a PIN so kids cannot switch off these blockers when parents aren’t looking.
There’s quite a bit of adult content to be had on Fubo, which offers cable channels like Bravo, Comedy Central, FX, MTV, and other channels that have been known to provide shows and movies with content that isn’t appropriate for kids. Alongside those channels in the same plan, Fubo offers networks like Disney Channel and Nickelodeon.
The very availability of these channels creates an environment in which kids will want to watch without having parental approval first. Some parents will want to restrict this behavior anyway, but without a strong set of parental controls, subscribers don’t really have the choice of whether or not to let kids watch without parental supervision.
Key competitors of Fubo, like DIRECTV and YouTube TV, have parental controls available already. Fubo may not think its target audience is as likely to be a family with kids, but adding parental controls is a low-impact way to signal to that demographic that it values them as well. Plus, viewership by kids watching without having to have their parents look over their shoulders is an easy way for Fubo to boost engagement.
Is a change in the absence of parental controls on Fubo on the way? It’s certainly possible. Fubo is working toward a merger with Hulu + Live TV, which is owned by Disney. All Disney-owned streaming services have parental control options available, no doubt thanks in large part to the family-friendly reputation Disney has cultivated over the decades.
Adding parental controls to Fubo would give parents a greater degree of peace of mind than they have enjoyed heretofore when it comes to kids watching the service. Fubo carries lots of channels that most families would think of as adults-only, and letting parents protect kids with parental controls would make it easier to let children watch the streamer unsupervised.
Fubo
Fubo is a live TV streaming service offering a robust lineup of approximately 150 premier channels, with plans starting at $63.99 per month. This entry-level package provides access to local broadcast affiliates 18 of the leading 35 cable channels channels, and valuable regional sports networks (RSNs).