Fubo CEO David Gandler says the company is sticking with its plan to launch a sports-focused pay-TV bundle in time for football season.
Speaking to Wall Street analysts on Fubo’s first-quarter earnings call Friday, Gandler addressed the sports bundle, which has long been prized by sports fans seeking a pure-play option to watch games.
“We are working hard to secure content from non-Disney programmers for the new service,” Gandler said. “It is critical for Fubo subscribers that we are able to negotiate content licensing agreements at fair rates and terms. Our goal remains to launch the service for the fall sports season.”
That concept may sound familiar. The joint venture Venu Sports, which was backed by Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery, pursued the same goal in 2024. The JV ended up shuttering before launch after Fubo successfully sued the media companies on antitrust grounds. As part of its settlement of the lawsuit, Disney agreed to acquire majority control of Fubo and combine it with Hulu + Live TV, though the deal is not expected to close until 2026.
Disney-owned ESPN, meanwhile, is also proceeding with a major streaming launch of its own timed for the start of college and NFL football: the long-in-the-works, stand-alone ESPN service.
Asked by one analyst about progress on securing carriage with a range of networks for the sports service, Gandler didn’t offer any specific updates but described the service as a key “growth opportunity” for Fubo.
The nature of the sports TV landscape is such that Venu Sports was never likely to be a dominant player, especially because it was missing two key rights holders in NBCUniversal and Paramount Global. While those companies have carriage deals with Fubo, participating in a sports-focused bundle could be a non-starter, especially for NBCU given how crucial sports is as a driver of Peacock subscriptions and advertising.
The quarterly report was generally downbeat. Total subscribers slipped 3% to 1.47 million, though the number came in slightly ahead of internal forecasts. Revenue of $407.9 million exceeded Wall Street analysts’ consensus estimate, but an adjusted loss per share of 2 cents compared unfavorably to analysts’ forecast of a break-even quarter.
Advertising slid 17% to $22.9M, with the company citing a carriage impasse with TelevisaUnivision, which resulted in its networks going dark on Fubo during the quarter. With those networks on the air, execs said ad revenue would have grown in the period.
Shares in Fubo, which got a huge boost in January on the Disney and legal news, fell 12% in early trading on the quarterly numbers.
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