fuboTV Drops 109K Subscribers, Falling Below 1MM in Q2 2022, Sports Betting under “Strategic Review”
fuboTV Drops 109K Subscribers, Falling Below 1MM in Q2 2022, Sports Betting under “Strategic Review”
After surpassing 1.13 million at the end of 2021 and 1.05 million at the end of Q1 2022, fuboTV lost 109K subscribers in Q2 2022. The losses sees the streaming service fall to 947K subscribers, down 183K from their peak, but up 41% from the same time last year (673K subscribers). In the past, the sports-focused streamer has chalked up losses in the middle of the year to seasonal churn following the football season.
The company however are now estimating 1.34 million subscribers by the end of the year, down from the 1.485 million subscribers they had their earlier guidance.
In May, the service raised its lowest monthly rate to $69.99, while also bumping up the regional sports network fee in some markets and introducing a new higher priced plan. As a result, the company saw revenues increase 65% year-over-year to $216.1 million on the quarter.
The declines followed reports from Tuesday that fuboTV had laid off a number of employees as part of “a small workforce reduction.”
In a statement to Business Insider on Tuesday, a Fubo spokesperson blamed the “quickly deteriorating macroeconomic environment” for the company’s recent difficulties and said that the streamer would be focusing on “a conservative approach to growth” as it re-examined key initiatives.
In their Q2 Shareholder Letter, CEO David Gandler said “our interactive wagering business is under strategic review. We are in internal and external discussions to determine the best path forward for Fubo’s gaming business and look forward to sharing more information.”
By comparison, last month, YouTube TV became the first live streamer to amass 5 million subscribers, while Hulu Live TV reported having 4.3 million subscribers at the end of Q1.
On Wednesday, Sling TV announced that it had dropped 55,000 customers in Q2 to bring its total to 2.197 customers. When Philo last reported, it came in at 800K subscribers, and DIRECTV STREAM no longer reports customers totals, but had 646K subscribers following Q4 2020, when it was still known as AT&T TV.
After an 11th-hour deal prevented a carriage disruption with TelevisaUnivision channels to start July, fuboTV has been adding FAST channels regularly throughout the summer.
The streamer announced that this would be its focus in Q2 as Fubo added Tastemade Travel and Ticker News, GAC Living and JusticeCentral.TV, QVC, and other free channels.
Despite the emphasis on them, free channels weren’t the only types of content that Fubo added in Q2. The streamer also became the exclusive streaming home for UEFA National Team matches while also making select games available via pay-per-view for non-subscribers.
Also in the second quarter, despite dropping 4K from its Base Plan for new customers, the streamer added 4K support to Boston Red Sox and Boston Bruins games on NESN as well as Chicago White Sox, Bulls, and Blackhawks games on NBC Sports Chicago.
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).