Fubo announces rollout of Essentials package with no regional sports networks
Fubo announces rollout of Essentials package with no regional sports networks
This new base plan is the cheapest that the sports-focused streamer has to offer.
The live TV streaming service Fubo has long prided itself on the number of choices it provides its subscribers. The company also has a long history of swapping various channel plans in and out of its lineup, but one choice it has never given customers before is the option to cut regional sports networks (RSNs) out of the equation — until now. Fubo has launched a new channel plan called Essential, which offers essentially the same channels and features as its old Pro plan, but without RSNs.
Key Details:
- The Essential package is $80 per month and is now available to customers.
- The plan means that viewers will be able to skip the $15 monthly RSN fee Fubo charges.
- Fubo was the only live TV service that forced nearly all subscribers to receive RSNs in all plans.
Fubo’s new Essential channel package will strongly resemble the Pro plan, carrying the same 190+ live TV channels, including local broadcast networks. It also offers unlimited Cloud DVR storage, plus the ability to stream on up to 10 screens at once within the subscriber’s home.
However, the newest package will allow viewers to skip the mandatory $15-per-month RSN fee that comes attached to the Pro and Elite plans for customers in the vast majority of markets. This fee is on top of the advertised price of these channel plans on Fubo’s website, which often comes as a surprise to customers signing up for the service for the first time.
Speaking of the Fubo Elite plan, that package has undergone some changes as well. In August, Fubo launched the Elite with Sports Plus package, a plan that combined its Elite channel lineup with the Sports Plus add-on for a price of $100 per month. Now, the Sports Plus channels have been removed from the plan, and the Deluxe package that launched at the same time seems to be gone.
This is nothing new for Fubo, which frequently switches up its channel plan and feature offerings to see what customers will respond to. For a brief period in late September, the streamer was only offering one English-language channel plan, and it recently decided to discontinue its free trial for new subscribers at least until 2025.
Fubo and DIRECTV STREAM are the only two live TV streaming services to include a large number of RSNs in their channel plans, but only the former would essentially force customers to pay for those channels in all plans if they wanted to sign up. Now, the need to pay for RSNs if you don’t watch them is no longer an issue on Fubo, thanks to the launch of its Essential plan. Now the only question is if the plan is here to stay for the long term.
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).