Fubo Launches Fully Customizable, Feature-Rich Multiview Experience on Roku
This feature launch could be a game changer for many sports-loving cord-cutters.
If there is one feature that most moves the needle for cord-cutting sports fans, it very well might be Multiview. The ability to watch multiple games on a single screen is increasingly important since bouncing between channels is significantly more difficult than it was in the days of cable and satellite. While sports-focused live TV streaming service Fubo has had a Multiview function on Apple TV devices since 2020, it is about to bring the joy and flexibility of a fully customizable quadbox to even more streamers. On Thursday, the company announced that it has launched a beta run of its Multview feature Roku devices.
Key Details:
- Fubo is launching a beta test of its Multiview feature on select Roku devices.
- Neither Fubo nor Roku has yet provided a list of what devices will be involved in the beta.
- Demos of the function appear to have numerous features that YouTube TV’s Multiview does not.
Fubo’s Multiview feature on Roku allows viewers to record, remove, and rearrange content without leaving the experience.
Fubo and Roku allow users to fully customize the channels, number, and arrangement of the Multiview windows.
Fubo and Roku allow viewers to select and replace individual feeds without leaving the Multiview experience.
Click on each image to expand it and get more details on Fubo’s Multiview feature on Roku.
With Fubo’s launch, this marks the first time that viewers will be able to configure their multiview experience on Roku devices, and since the company produces the most popular streaming players in the United States, that should be make a lot of Fubo customers happy. YouTube TV also has a multiview function, but it has limited customization options because viewers are limited to pre-selected combinations of games and channels.
However, as Fubo rolls out the beta feature on select Roku devices — with more expected to be added to the list in the coming weeks — subscribers will be able to fully customize what they watch on any Fubo channel.
“Multiview has been one of our most loved features and we’re thrilled to expand it to Roku users,” Fubo SVP on product management Isaac Josephson said. “With Multiview and a suite of product features that enable content discovery and personalization, Fubo’s goal is to ensure fans never miss a moment of their favorite content.”
Neither Fubo nor Roku confirmed what devices will be involved in the beta test at launch, but I have reached out to representatives from both companies in order to determine what streaming players will be included.
Watch a demo of Fubo’s Multiview on Roku:
Based on a demo sent out by Fubo, it appears that this version of the streamer’s Multiview will be significantly more advanced and adaptable than what YouTube TV is currently offering. In addition to being able to select any mix of channels and on-demand content in Fubo’s lineup and library, the Multiview feature on Roku appears to include far more user options inside the picture-in-picture function.
The demo shows that users will be able to add and remove channels without having to exit the experience, rearrange the order of the individual boxes, go fullscreen on one individual game, and more. This will make the multiviewing experience far more dynamic than what is currently available from other live TV streamers.
The reason that most streamers have shied away from launching Multiview features is because of how much computing power it requires. That is why YouTube TV does not allow fully customizable multiviewing, but instead opts to predetermine which collections viewers can choose from. By sending out pre-selected combinations, YouTube TV is able to send out an individual feed featuring four channels, rather than relying on the viewer’s individual hardware to serve four feeds into a single screen.
Undoubtedly part of the reason for a Fubo and Roku beta will be to determine if the devices can withstand real-world usage of the Multiview feature, especially during busy football weekends. If those tests prove that the service and the hardware can handle the technological list, this could be a game changer for sports fans looking for the best way to watch every game they want to see at any given time.
Fubo
Fubo is a live TV streaming service with about 90 top channels that start at $79.99 per month. This plan includes local channels, 19 of the top 35 cable channels, and regional sports networks (RSNs). In total, you should expect to pay about $94.99 per month, after adding in their RSN Fee. Fubo was previously known as “fuboTV.”