Somewhere the pig is catching the sweet breeze.
In a rare move for a streaming service, Fubo announced today that it is lowering the prices of some of its subscription plans.
Fubo is a sports-focused VMVPD (virtual multichannel video programming distributor, or a company that enables people to watch traditional TV channels live over the Internet). Disney closed its acquisition of Fubo in October.
Today, Fubo announced that monthly prices for some of its “Live TV” subscription plans, which include hundreds of channels including non-sports like FX and The Disney Channel, will be up to 14.8 percent cheaper. The new pricing starts with “bill cycle dates on or after January 1, 2026,” Fubo said.
These are the new prices:
- Necessary: $74 per month (previously $85/month)
- Pro: $75/month (previously $85/month)
- Aristocrat class: $84/month (previously $95/month)
When streaming services make announcements about pricing, it almost always means higher costs for subscribers.
However, some customers feel that the price cut is a necessity and not a benefit, as Fubo no longer carries NBCUniversal channels as of November 21. Blacked-out channels include local NBC affiliate, Telemundo, nine regional sports channels (Fubo notes that customers can also pay a reduced fee after the January billing cycle if any of the regional sports networks they previously received are no longer available on Fubo), and 32 channels, including Bravo, CNBC, MSNBC, and USA Network. Fubo previously announced it would give customers a $15 credit due to the blackout.
A spokesperson for Fubo told Ars Technica that the new prices “reflect NBCU pulling its networks from Fubo.”
A Fubo representative said they could not comment on whether the new prices would remain in place if Fubo got the NBCUniversal channels back because it was “speculative.”
fubo’s nbcuniversal blackout
In a statement on November 25, Fubo claimed that NBCUniversal was trying to charge Fubo more for channels that would remain under Versant, the company to be created from the spinoff of NBCUniversal’s cable channels and other digital properties, which is scheduled to begin in January.
“Fubo offered to distribute Versant channels for a year, despite the cost not being worth it for Fubo customers,” Fubo said. “NBCU wants Fubo to sign a multi-year agreement – long enough for the Versant channels to be owned by a separate company. NBCU wants Fubo’s customers to subsidize these channels.”
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