NEW YORK – DECEMBER 3, 2018 – Leading independent live TV streaming service fuboTV has launched in Spain, making it the first virtual MVPD (vMVPD) available in both North America and Europe.
The launch of fuboTV España puts fuboTV in the U.S. and Spain as it looks to dominate the global pay TV landscape, which is expected to generate $295 billion in revenue by 2022, according to ABI Research.
Spain is one of the world’s fastest-growing pay TV markets with OTT expected to boost the segment 50% by 2022, according to an October report from PwC.
fuboTV España subscribers can now access 13 Spanish-language channels, including Europe’s leading entertainment channel, Movistar Series, which broadcasts programming from U.S. television giants including CBS, NBC, The CW, HBO, Hulu, Netflix, Showtime and Starz. fubo is the first OTT platform – and just the third service overall after telecom Orange and Movistar itself- to offer Movistar Series in Spain nationwide, which is the European home to international hits like Billions (Showtime), Castle Rock (Hulu), Madam Secretary (CBS), Outlander (Starz), Ray Donovan (Showtime), Riverdale (The CW) and Will & Grace (NBC).
“2018 was a milestone year in fuboTV’s young life, with record revenues and subscriber growth,” said David Gandler, co-founder and CEO, fuboTV. “With our position in the US solid and growing at an aggressive pace, our goal is to become the number one leading vMVPD in the world. Spain is one of the fastest-growing OTT markets and a natural fit for fubo’s European entry. We’re excited to bring our premium viewing experience to Spain with additional markets to come in 2019.”
fuboTV’s global expansion caps a hugely successful 2018 marked by double- and triple-digital, year-over-year growth across key metrics. In September, the company announced it was approaching 250,000 paid subscribers, up +100% year-over-year, with more than 30,000 net additions in Q3. Also in September 2018, fubo exceeded an annual run rate (ARR) of $100 million, up 259% year-over-year.
The company has continued to evolve from its initial launch in 2015 as a streaming soccer service, to a sports-first virtual MVPD, to its position today as a leading cable replacement for the entire family. Competing head-to-head with live TV streaming players owned by the world’s biggest media and tech giants, fuboTV is regularly first-to-market with technology innovations, product features, advertising offerings and content partnerships.
In addition to closing a $75 million in Series D funding (April 2018) with investors 21st Century Fox, AMC Networks, Luminari Capital, Northzone, Sky and the former Scripps Networks Interactive, recently acquired by Discovery, Inc., 2018 milestones included:
- December 2018: Nearly doubled staff to 178 employees vs. prior year and, over last five months, has added Geir Magnusson (chief technology officer), Hannah Brown (chief strategy officer), Erik Gerson (SVP, engagement) and David Yoon (SVP, design) to its world-class leadership team.
- October 28, 2018: Nearly 170,000 viewers tuned into fuboTV for major sporting and entertainment events, including the 2018 World Series, achieving the company’s Most Viewed Day Ever.
- October 2018: fuboTV passed 500 local channels offered, spanning approximately 95% of U.S. markets.
- September 2018: fuboTV became the first live TV streaming service to launch “dynamic discovery” – an interface through which subscribers can browse live entertainment, news and sports programming via an in-progress preview directly on the home screen and seamlessly click to full video. fubo launched the interface on Apple TV and will roll it out platform-wide in the coming months.
- September 2018: fuboTV launched “Instant DVR” feature in iOS allowing users to watch programming while its being recorded.
- March 2018: Launched “Startover” feature in Beta, allowing a viewer who is tuning in late to a live game or TV show to catch up from the very beginning, so they don’t have to miss a second (for select channels, with more to come).
- August 2018: Turner’s portfolio of premium brands: TNT, TBS, CNN, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, truTV, TCM, HLN, Boomerang, CNN en Español and CNN International became available on fuboTV increasing its sports and entertainment coverage without raising subscription prices.
- Additional channels added in 2018 included Cheddar, NBA League Pass, Nuestra Tele, RAI Italia, SNY, Sports Illustrated TV, VSiN and commercial-free add-ons AMC Premiere and FX+, as well as a new Adventure Plus package.
- August 2018: fubo expanded its distribution to more connected TV platforms when it launched Amazon Fire TV and Android TV out of Beta.
- fubo continued to update its platform throughout the year across popular mobile (iOS, Android) and connected devices (Apple TV, Roku). Consumers can also get fubo through Chromecast and TV Everywhere.
- July 2018: The company became the first live TV streaming service to launch 4K HDR Beta with World Cup soccer, and has since become the first vMVPD to stream NCAA college football, English Premier League soccer, MLB playoffs and El Clasico in 4K Beta.
- June/July 2018: fuboTV delivered nearly 900 hours of soccer programming during Russia 2018 driving record viewership and engagement.
- June 2018: fuboTV began rolling out a new homepage design to optimize discovery of additional sports, news and entertainment programming via a more holistic view of what’s available, demonstrating fubo’s continued transition from a sports streaming platform to a cable replacement for the entire family. This also began the rollout of a “featured section” with increased personalization, with recommendations becoming increasingly more personalized.
- May 2018: Introduced “Fubo Extra,” a new, 80-plus channel bundle for $49.99 per month (following a free, seven-day trial and current promotional offer of $44.99/first month). It includes every channel and feature that is part of the $44.99 per month “Fubo” base package ($39.99/first month following the trial) and even more sports, entertainment and news.
- fuboTV is now the top live TV streaming service for news and weather channels carried.
- March/April 2018: Launched v4.0 of its iOS and Android apps – with centralized “My Fubo” section, updated guide, improved content discovery, a new look and more – and an upgraded Roku app (v2.5).
- February 2018: Launched the optional Family Share add-on which brings a third simultaneous stream to subscribers to share with family members.
- January 2018: Launched upgraded tvOS app for Apple TV with enhanced guide, network pages and a new player UI with play and pause capabilities.
- January 2018: fuboTV launched dynamic ad insertion, ahead of Hulu with Live TV and YouTube TV. Since then, thousands of brands have advertised on fuboTV, with ad revenue growing 84% from Q1 to Q2.
