After closing the year with a record number of subscribers, and now a focus on sports betting, fuboTV CEO David Gandler says that the company is “looking for opportunities…to expand the breadth of content that our current subscribers really enjoy.”
But, it comes with a a measured approach. “Our job is to continue to optimize our packaging. So when we say expand the breadth of sports, as you recall, in 2020, we decided to work with Disney and allowed our Turner deal to expire. So you should think of it as we’re going to be very measured and very disciplined as we have been throughout the year, and that goes for everything that we do here at fubo.”
In 2020, fuboTV partnered with Disney to bring ESPN (and others) and didn’t renew its deal with Turner for TNT, TBS, and CNN.
The company recently introduced a $5 RSN Fee in four markets, leaving many to wonder if adding new RSNs could be next?
But with cheaper streaming options, like ViacomCBS’ Paramount+, which includes live sports like NFL games and Champions League, should fuboTV fear that there will be a shift to cheaper options?
Despite high-quality content, Gandler doesn’t think those services compete with a full bundle like fuboTV. “There’s a lot of players with lots of great offers out there. In fact, this is a wonderful time to be a consumer in America,” explains Gandler.
“You get amazing content from dozens and dozens of amazing media companies and new players like the Apples of the world. I don’t believe that these are a threat to us at all. fuboTV, very specifically, is a sports-first cable TV replacement service. It does not compete with $4 services. It does not compete with $10 services. And if you’re a CBS customer and you really love CBS and you don’t watch anything else, I would actually urge you to go pick up your Paramount+ subscription because it is phenomenal content. But if you’re looking for a more robust package that includes all the sports that you want with great content from other media companies, then you’re probably going to be in the market for a product like ours.”
There are 75 million people in the US who have an MVPD service and based on the most recent Parks Associates report, 43% of cable TV households will likely switch to a virtual MVPD streaming service. With this large market potential, fuboTV believes there is immense success to be sought out, especially as the company continues to be aggressive with its partnerships and content expansion.