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FuboTV is a live TV streaming service that has a great deal of sports content. The cord-cutting TV service is a contender in the video streaming services market. It isn’t one of the three largest live TV cable replacement services, but industry watchers have marked it out as one to watch and it is probably the first choice for cord-cutter sports fans.
The TV service started out by specializing in soccer. In fact, it was known as the “Netflix of soccer.” Now, however, fuboTV has a full range of TV channels including shows popular with women and programming for children.
FuboTV overview
The fuboTV service started up in 2015. The live TV streaming system has some big industry backers, including AMC networks. The involvement of these media companies enabled fuboTV to expand beyond its sports programming and appeal to a wider audience. It was only when the service added on entertainment TV channels that it truly became of interest to cord-cutters looking to replace a standard cable TV package.
By the beginning of 2020, fuboTV had accumulated just under 400,000 subscribers. This is still a quite small membership base compared to the big players in the live TV streaming service sector. For example, the industry leader, Hulu + Live TV currently has 3.3 million subscribers, Sling TV has 2.59 million users, and YouTube TV is the third-largest live TV streaming service with 2 million members. So, fuboTV has a long way to go in order to reach the top of the charts.
Other rivals in the live TV streaming services industry include AT&T TV Now, Philo, and Pluto TV. The main rival to fuboTV in the live sports programming division is ESPN Plus (ESPN+).
The live TV streaming sector is still a long way behind on-demand streaming services in terms of subscribers. Netflix, the market leader in that sector, currently has 61 million accounts in the USA and 167 million subscribers worldwide.
Another advantage that on-demand streaming services have over live TV streaming services in terms of subscription hunting is that it is easier for them to expand into overseas markets. The TV system in the USA is complicated and media rights tie broadcasters to a domestic audience. The system of local channels carrying the big five TV channels complicates the ability of live streaming services to put together a national service. These factors have made it harder for live TV services to grow online.
FuboTV channels
The base package of fuboTV is called fubo Standard. There are a number of other plans which are the base package but with add-on packages built-in. There is also a Spanish language package, called fubo Espanol.
The fubo Standard plan includes 107 TV channels. Most of which are typical of the TV channels offered in cable TV packages.
FuboTV entertainment channels
- A&E
- ABC
- AMC
- BBC America
- BET
- Bravo
- CBS
- Comedy Central
- Discovery Channel
- Food Network
- Fox
- HGTV
- History Channel
- Investigation Discovery
- Lifetime
- MTV
- NBC
- Syfy
- TLC
- Travel Channel
- truTV
- USA Network
- VH1
FuboTV news channels
- Cheddar Business
- CNBC
- CNN
- Fox News
- HLN
- MSNBC
- Newsy
FuboTV sports channels
- Regional Sports Networks (from NBC SN and Fox Sports 1)
- Big Ten Network (college sports)
- beIN Sports
- CBS Sports Network
- Fox Sports 1
- Fox Sports 2
- Golf Channel
- NBC Sports Network (NBCSN)
- NFL Network
- Olympic Channel
- PAC-12 Network
- TBS
- TNT
FuboTV children’s TV channels
- Cartoon Network
- Nickelodeon
- Universal Kids
Fubo Latino plan TV channels
- Cine Sony Television
- Discovery en Español
- Fox Deportes
- GolTV Spanish
- Nat Geo Mundo
- Nuestra Tele
- Tr3s
- Zona Futbol
Fubo extra TV channels
The main add-on package is called Fubo Extra. This is bundled into the Ultra plan. Its channel lineup is long and it includes:
- BBC World News
- Cooking Channel
- MLB Network
- NBA TV
- NHL Network
- Sony Movie Channel
- Stadium
- Tennis Channel
Sports plus TV channels
The Ultra plan also includes the Sports Plus add-on package, which fubo Standard subscribers can add on separately. This plan includes:
- Fight Network
- GolTV (in English and Spanish versions)
- NFL Redzone
- TyC Sports
- Tennis Channel
- Zona Futbol
Other add-on packages
The fuboTV menu includes a long list of other add-on packages. These include:
- Adventure Plus – includes Sportsman Channel and World Fishing Network
- Latino Plus – includes Cine Sony Television and CNN en Español
- International Sports Plus – includes Fox Soccer Plus and GolTV (in English and Spanish versions)
- Fubo Cycling – includes Fox Soccer Plus and the Fubo Cycling Channel
- The Entretenimiento Plus (only as an addition to the fubo Latino plan) – includes Telehit and Univision Telenovelas
- Showtime – includes nine channels
On-demand content
The fuboTV system stores all of the TV shows and movies for 72 hours after it is shown in the live TV schedule. This creates a temporary on-demand library.
FuboTV UX
The fuboTV interface includes four main pages:
- Sports – includes both live and on-demand sports programming
- Entertainment – lists the current shows and movies airing
- Guide – a typical TV guide layout showing each TV channel’s schedule on a row.
- My DVR – lists all recorded content stored by the user.
Simultaneous streams
The base package, fubo Standard includes the right to two simultaneous streams. This can be augmented for a fee to three simultaneous streams. However, the three-stream allowance is bundled in with the other plans available from fuboTV.
Profiles
The fuboTV interface doesn’t include profiles or parental controls.
Video categories
Categories are created by the different pages available in the fuboTV interface, so that boils down to two categories: Sports and Entertainment.
Video downloads
The fuboTV service is a live TV streaming system, so it doesn’t allow downloads of content.
Each account gets access to a cloud DVR with 30 hours of cloud DVR storage. A DVR storage upgrade is available for a fee and this is included in all plans except for the Fubo Standard and Fubo Español plans. The Advanced DVR add-on increases DVR storage capacity to 500 hours.
FuboTV quality
The video quality of fuboTV streams varies from channel to channel. The minimum quality encountered on the live TV service is 720p HD, while some streams go up to 4K UHD. The streaming system is able to detect the speeds achieved by the internet connection for each transmission. It will adjust the video quality down accordingly in order to keep a consistent delivery speed. Those connections that are in good order get a delivery rate of 60 frames per second (FPS).
FuboTV platforms
Every fuboTV customer needs to have an active internet connection in order to receive transmissions from the TV service. The following devices are able to receive the fuboTV streaming service.
Smart TVs
- Samsung smart TV
Streaming devices
- Roku
- Apple TV
- Android TV box
- Amazon Fire TV Stick
- Amazon Fire TV Cube
Computers and mobile devices
- Web browser (to fubo.tv)
- Google Chromecast
- AirTV
- Sling TV app for iOS (iPhones and iPads)
- Sling TV app for Android devices and Kindle tablets
FuboTV price
The plan menu of fubo TV is complicated because the difference between plans is the inclusion of add-on packages in some of them. Generally, it is cheaper to go for a bundle plan that to seek out the equivalent channels through taking out the base plan and subscribing additionally to add-ons. Some TRV channels appear in several different add-on packages.
There are five plans with fuboTV. These are:
- Fubo Standard — $54.99 per month
- Family plan — $59.99 per month
- Family plan plus Showtime — $69.99 per month
- Ultra — $79.99 per month
- fubo Español — $29.99 per month
The Family plan is the same as Fubo Standard but includes the simultaneous stream and cloud DVR upgrades. The Family plan with Showtime is self-explanatory – it includes the Showtime package of nine premium channels. The Ultra package is the Family plan plus the Fubo Extra, Sports Plus, and Showtime add-on bundles.
The standard package is available for a 7-day free trial.
FuboTV reviews from customers
The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) measures customer opinion in the United States on a range of goods and services. One of its regular studies is the ACSI Telecommunications Report, which is published every year. The most recent edition of this report covers 2018 to 2019. One of the market sectors covered by this report is that of video streaming services.
The ACSI methodology accumulates customer opinion into a score out of 100, creating a percentage. FuboTV doesn’t score highly in that review. In fact, the ACSI lumps the streaming service in with “All Others.” The average score for 2018 of all streaming services was 75 and in 2019 it was 76. The All Others category got a satisfaction rating of 71 in 2018n and 72 in 2019. By comparison, the top scorer in both years was Netflix with 78 in 2018 and 79 in 2019.
More about fuboTV
Sports are part of fuboTV’s heritage — originally, the streaming service carried nothing but soccer-themed channels. Now, of course, fuboTV has something for everyone. Sports are still central to the service’s appeal, however.
ESPN die-hards won’t be thrilled with fuboTV’s lack of ESPN channels, but fans of other networks and the sports they cover will find a ton to watch. Soccer fans in particular will find no better live TV streaming service than fuboTV. fuboTV will also appeal to folks who are looking for niche sports or foreign leagues — if you want extensive cycling coverage or want to watch Australian rules football, this is the service for you.
