fuboTV Execs Say Sports-Focused Streamer Largely Unaffected by Loss of Local CBS Affiliates
fuboTV Execs Say Sports-Focused Streamer Largely Unaffected by Loss of Local CBS Affiliates
While customers were undoubtedly disappointed to learn that fuboTV would no longer be carrying local CBS stations in 160 major markets in late January, the company has been largely spared from any significant ramifications. Of course, it’s only been a month since this happened, so it’s possible the company could see more of an effect in the coming months, but for now, company executives don’t seem particularly worried.
“Under no circumstances, is this programming required for us given the retention levels that we’ve seen,” said CEO David Gandler during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call of the local CBS stations. “It’s certainly something we would love to return them … [but we’re] in a holding pattern, similar as you are waiting to see how this nets out.”
Local CBS affiliates were dropped by the live TV streaming service after Paramount Global was unable to strike an agreement with many of its local CBS affiliates for continued carriage on fuboTV. Affiliates were not required to abide by the agreement, and many chose not to accept it, effectively ensuring their removal from the service, even though the Eye Network and live streamer had essentially agreed to a continued carriage deal.
The largest affiliate companies, including E.W. Scripps, Hearst, Nexstar, Sinclair, and TEGNA, are among those that chose to withdraw from the agreement. Nearly 70% of the top 50 DMAs in the nation, including Washington, D.C., Houston, Atlanta, Phoenix, Seattle, Tampa, Orlando, Cleveland, and St. Louis, have been impacted.
Sinclair Broadcast Group CEO Chris Ripley said last week that he thinks the Fubo dispute could be resolved in the next few months. That’s good news for Fubo users who miss their local CBS streams, but Ripley has little control over the choice. The network does not allow affiliates to actively contract with service providers like fuboTV, according to the CEO. This kind of negotiation is done by networks, who then submit the agreement to affiliates for their approval or disapproval. In this specific instance, a significant portion of CBS affiliates believed the deal to be below what they could take. Gandler said Fubo has done its part to negotiate the carriage deal with the network, but it falls on CBS to secure the deals with local broadcasters.
One of the reasons that the Fubo CEO thinks that the disruption hasn’t impacted the streamer much is that they still have access to a national CBS feed and there are numerous free, ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) platforms available dedicated specifically to local news.
Gandler said that when it comes to paying for content, the streamer is willing to do so, as it has proven over time, but only if it adds value to Fubo’s customers. Without much pushback from customers over the loss of the local channels, and a growing customer base approaching 1.5 million, the company feels that it might be in an even better negotiating position than it anticipated.
“We are happy to pay a premium to bring in content that we feel is valuable to the bundles, such as the regional sports networks,” Gandler said. “We may again have even more leverage than we initially had anticipated, particularly since we are growing double-digits year-over-year. So at the moment, we’re going to let this play out for a little bit longer. And then obviously, we’ll reach out and see if there’s anything that we can do to help.”
It appears that both CBS and fuboTV would like to get this dispute figured out sooner or later, but the decision essentially comes down to the affiliates. But, if those station owners try to play hardball with the sports-focused streamer, they might end up with a worse deal than they anticipated.
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).