fuboTV Drops Monthly Option Ahead of Super Bowl in Latest Test of Quarterly Plans
For the last two years, fuboTV has dropped its monthly plan each February, in an effort to test the impact of only offering a quarterly plan. In both cases, a few days later, the company reverted back to offering monthly options on all plans.
Now just a few days before the 2023 Super Bowl, fuboTV has started that test once again, and has removed the monthly option on all plans on their website for new subscribers altogether. A spokesperson for fuboTV has told The Streamable, “We have temporarily made our channel packages available to new subscribers as quarterly plans. We’re always experimenting with our channel package offerings to better understand what our subscribers like.”
The company currently lists three plans:
- Pro Quarterly: $74.99/mo. + $11-14 RSN Fee ($257.94 prepaid quarterly)
- Elite Quarterly: $84.99/mo. + $11-14 RSN Fee ($287.94 prepaid quarterly)
- Premier Quarterly: $94.99/mo. + $11-14 RSN Fee ($317.94 prepaid quarterly)
Unlike when the sports-focused streamer promotes the quarterly plans side-by-side with its monthly plans, Fubo is not offering any benefit for choosing the quarterly option. Previously, those who chose the Pro Quarterly would get Sports Lite (which includes channels like NHL Network, MLB Network, and NBA TV) at no extra charge; that is not the case this time around.
The timing of the test comes just a few days after fuboTV added Bally Sports regional sports networks (RSNs) to its channel line-up, which came with a $5 price hike and an $11-$14 RSN fee. The change also comes a month before March Madness, which fuboTV will only have partial coverage of without TNT, TBS, and truTV on its service.
By introducing the new quarterly option, fuboTV is hoping to reduce monthly subscriber churn. The question will be whether charging quarterly will be a turn-off to streamers who are used to paying monthly with the ability to cancel at any time.
The other major downside to a quarterly option comes when considering add-ons. For instance, Fubo’s Sports Plus add-on — which includes NFL RedZone — might only be of interest during the four months of the football season, but with a quarterly plan, customers would have to select it for either three (too few) or six (too many) months.
The company ended the third quarter of 2022 with 1.23 million subscribers. In comparison though, it is still much smaller than Hulu + Live TV and YouTube TV, which both have about between 4 and 5 million subscribers apiece.
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.”