What you need to know
- More than 3 billion minutes of content were consumed from April through June.
- June's massive numbers undoubtedly were buoyed by the Women's World Cup.
- Fubo is still one of the only ways to stream live sports in 4K in the U.S.
June was a good month to be Fubo TV. The streaming service today announced that the number of hours its subscribers watched jumped some 137 percent in June compared to the same month in 2018 — and the subscribers who opted for its more expensive package spent even more time with their eyes on the set.
While Fubo doesn't come right out and say it, though, that increase — and the fact that it chose June to highlight here — almost certainly was due in no small part to the fact that the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup was mostly played in June, and that Fubo TV was the only MVNO streaming service in the United States to stream any games in 4K resolution. (The United States, in case you've been living under a rock, won the whole thing.
All in all, some 3 billion minutes of content were viewed in the second quarter (that's April, May and June), Fubo said.
The trick for Fubo, then, will be to not bleed too many subscribers in the ensuing months. It's no secret that folks will take advantage of the free trial periods and then split when things are over. That's even more of a thing in terms of appointment television like sporting events, and even more so when you throw in that Fubo's the only one in the U.S. to do 4K resolutions. And that's not a slight on Fubo, nor is it on the consumers. We shouldn't be paying for what we're not using.
Fubo's upcoming slate of games in 4K is pretty bare at the moment, with Major League Baseball's Mets and Giants on July 20, and the Yankees and Red Sox on July 27 the only things on the schedule. Fubo's overall game plan isn't that bad — its cheapest option is $55 a month. But if it wants to see another month like June, it's going to have to do something more to stand out.
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The best channels and sports in 4K!
Fubo TV has quickly found itself among the top streaming networks, with sports livestreamed in 4K resolution — and now with more than a dozen Discovery channels.
FUBOTV SUBSCRIBERS WATCHED OVER 3 BILLION MINUTES OF CONTENT IN Q2
Top Subscribers Now Watching 155 Hours on Connected TVs Per Month
Live TV Streaming Service Continues to Capture Cord Cutters with New Programming, Innovation and Product Features
NEW YORK – JULY 11, 2019 – Users watched over three billion minutes of programming on fuboTV during Q2, a nearly 200% spike over 2018, as cord cutters embraced the live TV streaming service's recently expanded programming offerings and innovative product features including 4K streaming.
Engagement across all fuboTV platforms (connected TVs, mobile, web) saw explosive annual growth in June 2019 vs. June 2018. Time spent (hours per subscriber) on fuboTV in June spiked 137% over prior year. fuboTV users that subscribe to all major channels (fubo Standard + fubo Extra packages) spent 142 hours on the platform in June 2019.
Connected TV usage continued to be the largest driver of overall viewership as subscribers migrated to bigger screens and increasingly depend on fuboTV as a cable replacement product. Nearly 90% of hours watched were on connected TVs (CTVs) in June 2019 vs. 67% in June 2018.
Broken down further, hours spent on CTVs by subscriber increased 195% in June over prior year. More impressively, fuboTV users that subscribe to all major channels (fubo Standard + fubo Extra packages) watched 155 hours on these devices in June.
Entertainment content was the most watched programming category as fuboTV, which launched in 2015 as a soccer streaming service, continues to evolve into a leading cable replacement for the entire family. Entertainment programming accounted for 42% of content watched in June, which doubled from 20% in June 2018. Entertainment was followed by sports (38%) and news/talk (20%, which nearly doubled from 12% YoY). In the past year, fuboTV has added networks from Turner and Viacom among others. Additional Discovery channels were recently announced and will be added shortly.
In addition to a broader programming offering, product innovation and a premium viewing experience has powered fuboTV as it continues to capture market share from traditional cable TV providers as well as streaming services owned by the world's biggest media and technology companies (Dish's Sling TV, AT&T's DirecTV Now, Google's YouTube TV, Disney's Hulu with Live TV).
Fubo was the first – and still only – virtual MVPD to offer streams in 4K HDR, which it launched in June of last year. The company was also the first 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.
On the business front, fuboTV launched dynamic ad insertion in January 2018 after several months of testing.
"With our subscribers watching over three billion minutes of programming last quarter, fuboTV's expanded content offering and our industry-leading commitment to a premium viewing experience has clearly resonated with consumers," said David Gandler, co-founder and CEO, fuboTV. "This is great news not only for fuboTV but also for the virtual MVPDs industry as a whole. Cord cutters have clearly found a better alternative to cable TV."
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