As has become a somewhat annual tradition, on Jan. 1, fuboTV announced that it was dropping another collection of channels from its streaming lineup. This year, the live TV streaming service revealed to customers that it would no longer be carrying channels from AMC Networks, including AMC, BBC America, WE tv, BBC World News, IFC, SundanceTV, el gourmet, AMC Premiere, and Mas Chic. And while that is likely disappointing to a not insignificant number of Fubo’s subscribers, it very well might indicate that the otherwise sports-focused streamer is gearing up to finally bring back the channels that its customers have most been clamoring for since they initially left in 2020.
On July 1, 2020, fuboTV saw its carriage agreement with WarnerMedia end meaning that TNT, TBS, TruTV, CNN, the Cartoon Network, and other channels would no longer be available on the service. While all of those outlets are popular in their own rights, the loss of TNT and TBS — and to a much lesser degree TruTV — presented a significant challenge for Fubo.
Since launch, fuboTV has positioned itself as the leading cable alternative in streaming for sports fans. However, without the Turner cable networks, it lacks a significant amount of high-profile games and events. The NBA, NHL, and MLB all have national broadcast deals with TNT and/or TBS, and the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament airs the majority of its games on those channels and TruTV every March. The networks also air AEW Wrestling, The Match golf events, and more sports programming throughout the year.
At the time of the channels’ departure, Fubo made it clear to customers that the decision to drop TNT, TBS, and the other WarnerMedia properties was because AT&T (which owned WarnerMedia at the time) was asking too much money in carriage fees to make it worth the investment.
“In order to continue to provide the most value to our customers at a reasonable price point, we will not be renewing our contract with WarnerMedia when it expires tonight,” a Fubo spokesperson told The Streamable at the time.
However, circumstances — not the least of which is the Turner networks’ new ownership — have changed significantly since 2020. The networks are now owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, which has been turning over every rock and seat cushion that it can find in order to try and scrape together enough money to pay off the more than $5 billion in merger-related fees and debt. While in most cases, this has resulted in a much worse streaming experience for customers, it could prove to be a boon for Fubo subscribers.
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For more than a year, Fubo CEO David Gandler has made hints that his service was working on bringing back TNT, TBS, et al. While he has made it clear that having the channels back would be preferred, it would have to come at the right price.
“Those conversations will continue and if the pricing is in line with our 2025 goal of hitting profitability, then there is a chance that we can always bring Turner back,” he said in the company’s first-quarter 2022 earnings call.
As the football season winds down — a time when all linear providers see a subscriber decline — now might be the perfect time for Fubo to reengage with Warner Bros. Discovery in efforts to bring back TNT and TBS. While the individual carriage fees that fuboTV pays out are not known, by dropping the AMC Networks — which focus on prestige and niche entertainment content — the streamer likely has extra room in its content budget to add channels that cover sports without the risk of having to impose another rate hike; fuboTV raised its monthly rates by $5 last April.
WBD has proven that it is willing to reunite with partners now that circumstances have changed. After HBO Max was pulled from Amazon’s Prime Video Channels in August 2021, it was ‘restored to the channel hub last month, which should bode well for Fubo’s chances of bringing the Turner channels back as well. The reason that WBD was willing to once again partner with a streaming rival is that Amazon has proven to be a remarkable funnel for getting customers engaged with platforms. When HBO Max was initially removed from Prime Video Channels, it reportedly lost out on 5 million customers who had signed up through Amazon. WBD CEO David Zaslav now needs every possible revenue stream available to him, and both Prime Video and fuboTV fit the bill.
Furthermore, Fubo is the only live streaming service — other than the skinny bundle Philo — that offers the Discovery bundle of lifestyle channels (Discovery, HGTV, Food Network, Investigation Discovery, and more), but does not also carry the Turner suite of networks. So while WBD could see the potential additional carriage fees as a reason to return to the negotiating table, it could also see them as a reason to play hardball and force Fubo to pony up or risk losing the Discovery channels as well.
Either way, fuboTV subscribers who have been frustrated about missing out on “The NBA on TNT,” NHL and MLB coverage, and March Madness just might have some reason to be optimistic in the new year.
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, 25 of the top 35 cable channels, and regional sports networks (RSNs). In total, you should expect to pay about $91.99 per month, after adding in their RSN Fee. Fubo was previously known as “fuboTV.”