Key Financial Data
- Fiscal Q2 Total revenue: $1.574 billion (+39.9% year-over)
- Global revenue, pro forma: $1.574 billion (+0.6%)
- North American revenue: $1.566 billion (+39.2%)
- Ex-North American revenue: $8.3 million (no change)
- North American paid subscribers: 5.7 million (-3.4%)
- Ex-North American subscribers: 328,000 (-7.3%)
- Net income: -$6.2 million (improvement from -$40.9 million)
- Cash on hand: $244 million
- Read more media earnings coverage
An ongoing carriage dispute involving Comcast’s NBC Universal that has deprived subscribers of Disney’s streaming service Fubo of NBC’s sports programming is likely to blame for higher churn that afflicted the sports-centric service during its fiscal second quarter (Q2).
On Wednesday, Fubo revealed its pay TV business — which includes its own service and that of Hulu with Live TV — saw its subscriber count dip by 200,000 customers, with Fubo ending the quarter at 5.7 million customers.
Like other sports-inclusive streaming services, Fubo sees higher customer disconnects between its second and third fiscal quarters as fans drop expensive pay TV packages once the National Football League’s (NFL) season is over.
In this instance, Fubo customers weren’t able to watch NBC’s coverage of Super Bowl LX or the 2026 Winter Olympic Games this year thanks to a dispute that started last November, when Fubo’s contract to offer NBC-owned broadcast channels and cable networks expired without a new agreement in place.
In February, executives at Fubo said NBC Universal was waiting for a carriage agreement that covers the distribution of its channels on Hulu with Live TV to expire before the broadcaster was ready to hammer out a new deal. NBC wants to negotiate a single contract that covers carriage on both platforms, which are operated by Fubo.
On Wednesday, Fubo CEO David Gandler said it was actually his company that initially paused conversations with NBC Universal last year, when Comcast was in the process of spinning out most of its cable networks into a new venture called Versant.
“We paused discussions to allow the separation process to proceed,” Gandler ackonwledged.
Fubo tried to restart negotiations with NBC Universal in January, Gandler said, but “Comcast ceased engagement in renewal discussions despite multiple outreach attempts.”
“Comcast indicated that they are satisfied with their existing Hulu Live arrangement and do not intend to engage in renewal discussions on the Fubo side at this time, preferring to reengage closer to the Hulu Live expiration,” Gandler admitted. “Given that most commercial terms have been largely aligned prior to the Versant spin-off, this position is very difficult to reconcile.”
While Versant and Comcast are separate companies, Comcast negotiates carriage of Versant-owned cable channels on that company’s behalf, bundling them with NBC, NBC Sports Network and Bravo. Gandler said the lack of NBC and Versant channels on its platform had a “modest” effect on subscriber counts. The company has pointed its customers to NBC’s streaming service Peacock as an alternative way to watch NBC sports programming while the dispute is in place, and is earning commissions from Peacock subscription sales through an affiliate marketing platform.
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Churn aside, Fubo’s financials were otherwise healthy for Q2: The company earned $1.56 billion from its pay TV business, up nearly 40 percent compared to the $1.26 billion reported last year. Net loss was reduced to just $6.2 million — also an improvement from the $41 million that Fubo lost during Q2 2025.
Fubo’s Q2 is aligned with Disney’s fiscal quarter, which runs during calendar Q1.
Gandler said Fubo is encouraged by a new feature coming to ESPN’s website and apps called “Where to Watch,” which will aggregate live sports programming across its own and competing networks. Fubo will be recommended as an option to watch live games when they are available on that platform, and Gandler expects more sports fans will sign up for Fubo’s offering thanks to the exposure that ESPN will bring. The feature is expected to debut in early 2027.
Fubo is also selling access to Hulu with Live TV through its own website, even though Hulu’s live TV channels are only available through the Hulu website. Still, it gives sports fans who want access to NBC’s basketball and baseball games an option to watch that programming on a platform controlled by Fubo while the dispute with Comcast plays out.
“Our 2026 North Star is simple: growth. We are focused on expanding our subscriber base through differentiated sports offerings, scale distribution partnerships and improved monetization, driving long-term value for consumers and shareholders,” Gandler said.
