FuboTV Abandons Gambling Efforts, Leaps in Q3, Passes 1.22M Subscribers
FuboTV Abandons Gambling Efforts, Leaps in Q3, Passes 1.22M Subscribers
The champagne corks are flying at fuboTV HQ today. The company announced a major subscriber surge in Q3, predicting its final subscriber tally will surpass 1.22 million. That’s a big boost from Q2, when the streamer finished with 947,000 subscribers.
Notably, the streamer’s subscriber number includes Canada, where it has exclusive streaming rights for the English Premier League. (Peacock holds those rights in the U.S.)
The company’s latest year-end guidance placed subscribers at 1.34 million.
Comparing any live TV streaming service from quarter-to-quarter is a tricky prospect, since so much of linear viewing is cyclical. The year-over-year improvement is a healthy 27%, however. Sports fans are a huge driver of these subscriptions, and the numbers tend to ebb and flow, depending on the availability of the games. The NFL alone is a monster driver of live TV viewership, with football accounting for 75 of the most-watched live events last year.
Earlier this month, fuboTV added Altitude, to allow Colorado Avalanche and Denver Nuggets fans to keep tabs on their teams. It’s only the second live TV streaming service to offer the channel.
FuboTV is also offering MLB playoff games on FOX in 4K.
And to cap off a stellar quarter, fuboTV placed first in J.D. Power's customer satisfaction ranking for live TV streaming services.
“We expect to deliver strong revenue and subscriber growth in Q3, exceeding our previously issued guidance in North America, against the backdrop of a highly competitive operating environment,” said CEO David Gandler.
FuboTV’s Gamble Doesn’t Pay Off
This renewed momentum comes after some soul-searching at fuboTV, and the announcement of the end of a long-term pursuit. FuboTV is giving up on gambling
“Following our previously announced strategic review, we have concluded that continuing with Fubo Gaming and Fubo Sportsbook in this challenging macroeconomic environment would impact our ability to reach our longer term profitability goals,” Gandler said. “Therefore, we have made the difficult decision to exit the online sports wagering business effective immediately.”
Almost one year ago, the fuboTV sportsbook went live. The idea was to offer an integrated gambling platform that synched live TV streams with betting options within an app. But regulatory headwinds in the gaming space are incredibly fierce, and fuboTV struggled to make the option available nationally.
We saw signs of trouble as early as January, when Gandler announced that sports betting is “100% saturated, there is no loyalty.” Although fuboTV was trying to grab a slice of that revenue, it was proving difficult against players like DraftKings and FanDuel and their web of casino partners.
Gandler will go into more detail about the gambling decision in the company’s earnings call on November 4.
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.”