Fubo CEO Implies Company is Being ‘Overcharged 30 to 50%’ for Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery Channels
This week, Fubo CEO David Gandler renewed his steady stream of vitriol against the joint venture streaming service from Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery.
Fubo CEO David Gandler wants to ensure that there is no room for interpretation of his feelings about the joint venture sports streaming service from Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery. As if his company’s antitrust lawsuit against the three companies over their forthcoming sports-focused streaming joint venture wouldn’t be enough of an indicator, the long-time streaming executive has been taking every opportunity to go on the offensive against what he believes are anticompetitive practices by some of the media’s heaviest hitters. From calling the new JV a “cartel” to accusing Disney, Fox, and WBD from overcharging Fubo by 30% to 50%, as is his wont, Gandler is leaving no punches pulled.
- Gandler said that Fubo is being overcharged by huge margins for top channels, implying Disney, Fox and WBD are at the center of this problem.
- The CEO also took shots at the Disney Bundle, essentially dubbing it a desperation play.
- Despite Gandler’s willingness to complain, his company’s lawsuit against Disney, Fubo and WBD may face an uphill climb.
Gandler continued his attacks on the JV’s owners this week at SportsPro New York, but that is hardly the first time Gandler has spoken to the public about his distaste for the new streaming platform; which many taken to jokingly calling “Spulu.” Earlier in March, the CEO created headlines by calling his company’s struggle against the JV platform — which recently named a CEO of its own — a “duel to the death,” and his rhetoric was no less fiery at SportsPro New York.
He began by touting Fubo’s recent financial success and its 1.6 million subscribers, and then implied that everything would be even more impressive for the company were it not for major media entities overcharging for channels and foisting unwanted content on Fubo through draconian carriage deals.
“We’re being overcharged 30 to 50%,” Gandler complained according to Sports Pro Media. “We’re dealing with complexities around packaging. We’re forced to take on content that we don’t want in order to access ‘must have’ programming.”
He did not refer to Disney, Fox, or WBD by name, but his allusion to being compelled to carry unwanted content is at the very least a reference to the House of Mouse. Accepting unwanted content in order to carry popular Disney-owned channels like the ESPN family of networks was a key issue at the heart of the carriage dispute between Disney and Charter Communications last fall. The dispute only ended when Disney agreed to let Charter drop several channels from its Spectrum TV plans that it had been forcing on the cable distributor.
In a further shot across Disney’s bow, Gandler did not attempt to hide his feelings regarding the Disney Bundle, which allows customers to buy combinations of Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ at various price points. Despite data that clearly demonstrates the Disney Bundle’s impact on reducing churn, Gandler insisted that the package is a failure and that the JV platform is the next step from a company determined to drive all cable channel distributors out of business as its last opportunity to save its floundering channel business.
“Every week it’s something new,” Gandler said. “[The networks started] with ‘plus’ services, that doesn’t work, they bundle it with other services and that doesn’t work. They’re basically throwing everything at the wall and hoping something sticks. If you don’t have any competitors, guess what? It’s gonna work. So, this [lawsuit] was a clear opportunity for us to be able to communicate what we are actually dealing with.”
Is Fubo in as Much Trouble as Gandler Thinks?
A deeper look into Fubo's situation suggests that the service does indeed face stiff competition from the JV streamer if it ever makes its way to customers. Fubo built its brand and reputation among customers as a sports platform, and the new service will offer full livestreams of some of Fubo’s most popular channels at presumably a significantly lower price point.
That’s almost certainly the biggest reason that Fubo’s reaction to the JV platform has been so much stronger than those of other distributors. Services like DIRECTV STREAM and Sling TV carry a variety of entertainment and news channels in addition to sports selections. Fubo carries many of the same channels, but it has spent years advertising itself as a sports-first streamer, and now that its chickens have come home to roost, it’s crying foul.
Many legal experts don't think Fubo's lawsuit has much of a chance. Sports attorney Chris Deubert put it succinctly when breaking down Fubo’s uphill climb to Front Office Sports in late February.
“Antitrust law protects competition. It does not protect competitors,” Deubert explained. “Fubo’s complaints here are sour grapes, potentially, because they stand to lose out, theoretically, on market share. That doesn’t mean there’s an antitrust violation. If this was 10, 15, or 20 years ago, when the market for sports rights was much more consolidated, they’d have a stronger claim.”
The courts may or may not agree with Deubert’s assessment, but Gandler is not taking the risk of anyone misinterpreting his feelings on “Spulu” in the meantime. He continues to look askance at the platform, and at the three companies who are trying to bring it to life.
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.”