Virtual MVPD Fubo on Thursday unveiled specifics for its planned sports-focused skinny pay TV package, including a $55.99 monthly price tag and September 2 launch date.
Dubbed Fubo Sports, the standalone plan includes more than 20 sports and broadcast networks that offer national and local pro and college sports events. It’s initially launching in select markets and expected to expand further. There’s also a promotional $10 discount, making it available for $45.99 for the first month.
The cost comes in below Fubo’s full-fledged lineup plans, including Pro ($84.99 per month) and Elite with Sports Plus ($104.99 per month), and marks a step in supporting the vMVPD’s approach to provide streaming TV options across different level price points. Other efforts on that front have included launching a freemium tier, Pay-Per-View live events, as well as packages like its Spanish-language Latino plan.
“At Fubo, we have always believed a streaming service must provide consumers with multiple, flexible and more affordable content options - and that consumers should be able to subscribe to the content they choose,” said David Gandler, co-founder and CEO of Fubo, in a statement. “The launch of Fubo Sports will add another content tier to our broad portfolio, super-serving passionate sports fans.
Specifically, at launch Fubo Sports offers up local owned-and-operated ABC, CBS and Fox broadcast stations, along with additional affiliates in select markets, as well as ACC Network, Big 10 Network, CBS Sports, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNews, ESPNU, Fox News, FS1, FS2, Fubo Sports Network, ION, NFL Network and Tennis Channel. And bundled with a Fubo Sports subscription is access to ESPN’s new direct-to-consumer Unlimited plan, which also includes ESPN+.
In addition to live channels, the sports-focused TV plan includes video on-demand content, unlimited DVR and Family Share options.
Fubo’s ability to offer a skinny sports pay TV lineup follows its antitrust litigation last year against Venu Sports JV partners Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery. Together the Venu partners planned to launch a sports-focused streaming offering the combined their respective linear channels – unbundling coveted sports programming from other channels like entertainment, which is something Fubo’s suit claimed the programmers had long prohibited distributors like itself from doing.
Fubo scored a preliminary injunction against Venu, an effort that never got to market and was dissolved following a settlement with Fubo in early 2025 that also saw a related agreement to combine its business with competing vMVPD Hulu + Live TV, with Disney to control a 70% ownership stake.
After that settlement, other pay TV providers came out with their own offerings, like DirecTV which took a new approach and was able to start offering genre-based pay TV plans.
But Fubo’s skinny sports launch comes just as football season is kicking off and there's heavy competition in the streaming space. Also timed around the start of football, this month saw the debut of direct-to-consumer offerings of both Disney’s new flagship ESPN streamer and Fox’s Fox One service.
Dish’s Sling TV, meanwhile, recently debuted low-cost short-term pay TV passes for periods as short as 24 hours, one weekend or one week (although if it can keep offering linear networks from Disney like ESPN remains to be seen as the media company filed a lawsuit against Dish this week saying the plans violate carriage agreement terms).
As Fubo continues to compete in a crowded streaming space, the vMVPD marked its first-ever quarter of positive Adjusted EBITDA in Q2 but saw subscribers decline both year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter. As of the end of Q2, Fubo’s North American paid subscriber base stood at 1.35 million.