This week’s major announcement about a sports focused streaming service caught the attention of Fubo TV which has always billed itself as a sports based streaming service.
A spokesperson from the service, which offers more sports based programming than any other service on the market including RSNs, pointed out in a release this week that they feel their value is better for consumers because they package Sports along with other things that they have found consumers value.
“Consumers have demonstrated that they want an aggregated sports, news and entertainment package differentiated by a quality product experience. This is what Fubo delivers. We have also continuously pushed the boundaries of live TV streaming with market-first features like 4K, multi viewing and AI products like our just-launched Instant Headlines.”
A big question on the minds of industry and casual observers is how can a new service offer that many premium sports options at a price that competes with general entertainment packages which also include sports. It should be noted that sports channels are by far one of the major drivers of cost for live TV along with local broadcast affiliates.
The statement from Fubo further illustrated that issue.
“Every consumer in America should be concerned about the intent behind this joint venture and its impact on fair market competition. This joint venture spotlights a concerning trend where an alliance with significant market share, reportedly controlling 60-85% of all sports content, could dictate market terms in a manner that may not serve the broader interests of consumers.”
Are there enough households that only want to pay for sports channels and literally nothing else?
Maybe. I have to say that anecdotally when I talk with people in the real world about cord cutting and costs usually there is a list of channels that they must have going forward and they usually include things that the entire family wants like lifestyle programming maybe HGTV or the Food Network, the “History” Channel, content for kids and so on. It’s frankly quite possible that the new service will have to compete against Hulu with live TV even though Disney is a partner in this whole venture.
Fubo will be releasing its earnings statements March 1st to update investors in the public as to where the service stands going into the next quarter.
