Sports-focused streaming service Fubo added more than 141,000 new paying customers during the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2023, the company revealed this week.
On Friday, executives said the streaming cable television replacement grew its customer base to a record 1.618 million subscribers, most of whom shell out more than $80 per month to watch dozens of live sports, movie, news, lifestyle and general entertainment channels.
Fubo experienced a 12 percent year-over-year growth in subscribers, which helped bring revenue to $402 million for the quarter, or 29 percent more than it saw in Q4 2022. The company’s average revenue per user, or ARPU, in North America increased to $86.65, or around $11 higher on a year-over basis, spurred by changes to some programming packages and the inclusion of a regional sports fee last year.
Fubo’s stock price rose 14 percent in pre-market trading Friday, only to fall 6 percent from its prior day closing price when the New York Stock Exchange opened around 9:30 a.m.
“The fourth quarter capped a great year for Fubo, as we again exceeded guidance across key financial and operational metrics,” David Gandler, the CEO of Fubo, said in a statement, adding that the company remains “confident in achieving our 2025 positive cash flow goal.”
“The results for the fourth quarter and full year 2023 demonstrate that Fubo continues to execute on our long-term strategy and that we are well positioned to capitalize on our aggregated and curated sports-centric entertainment offering, leveraging the evolving trends across the media and consumer landscape,” Gandler said.
The CEO also took a shot at two of its programming partners — Fox Corporation and the Walt Disney Company — reiterating a complaint made last month that the pair are engaging in anticompetitive behavior by developing a soon-to-launch streaming service that will only include sports channels.
The package of channels that Fox and Disney are willing to offer their sports-focused joint venture is substantially different from what programmers impose on cable, satellite and streaming cable-like services. Those agreements generally require pay TV companies distribute non-sports channels in exchange for lucrative programming from Fox Sports, ESPN and affiliated networks.
Fubo complains that the streaming joint venture being developed by Fox and Disney (along with Warner Bros Discovery, whose channels are not offered on Fubo) will get a sweetheart deal that it and other cable TV providers are unable to offer. The company is suing the three broadcasters in federal court over the matter, and Gandler reiterated his concerns over the forthcoming streaming service on Friday.
“As evident in the antitrust lawsuit we filed against these parties last month, their proposed sports streaming joint venture is only the latest example of the pernicious practices they have inflicted to suppress our business and harm consumers,” Gandler said. “We are asking for an opportunity to compete fairly as a business, and to offer consumers a streaming option that gives them the channels they want, and at a fair price.”
In the meantime, Gandler said Fubo customers can “still expect a compelling sports-centric entertainment offering, and investors should expect Fubo to continue to execute well against our stated business objectives.”
That won’t come without some challenges, though: Despite Fubo earning the business of more subscribers, the company is still not turning a profit, though it bled less cash in Q4 2023 compared to the prior year.
Fubo’s financial losses were reported at $71.042 million during the three months that ended December 31, compared to $95.9 million one year prior.
