Streaming service makes rare decision to lower its monthly fees
Somewhere, a pig is coming up for air.
In a rare move for a streaming service, Fubo announced today that it is reducing prices on some of its subscription plans.
Fubo is a vMVPD (virtual multi-channel video programming distributor or company that allows people to watch traditional TV channels live over the Internet) focused on sports. Disney completed the 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 channels like FX and The Disney Channel, will be up to 14.8% cheaper. The new pricing starts with “billing cycle dates starting January 1, 2026,” Fubo said.
Here are the new prices:
- Essential: $74 per month (previously $85/month)
- Pro: $75/month (previously $85/month)
- Elite: $84/month (previously $95/month)
When streaming services make pricing announcements, it almost always means higher costs for subscribers.
However, some subscribers likely feel that the price drop is a necessity and not a benefit, since Fubo has been without NBCUniversal channels since November 21. The banned channels include local NBC affiliates Telemundo, nine regional sports channels (Fubo noted that subscribers may also pay lower fees after January billing cycles if 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 subscribers a $15 credit due to the outage.
A Fubo spokesperson told Ars Technica that the new prices “reflect NBCU’s withdrawal of its networks from Fubo.”
Fubo’s representative said he couldn’t say whether the new prices would remain if Fubo picks up the NBCUniversal channels because it’s “speculative.”
Fubo’s NBCUniversal outage
In a Nov. 25 statement, Fubo claimed that NBCUniversal was trying to overcharge Fubo for the channels that will live under Versant, a company that will be created from the spinoff of NBCUniversal’s cable channels and other digital properties, which is expected to debut in January.
“Although they are not worth the cost to Fubo subscribers, Fubo has offered to distribute the Versant channels for a year,” Fubo said. “NBCU wants Fubo to sign a multi-year deal, well after the Versant channels are owned by a separate company. NBCU wants Fubo subscribers to subsidize those channels.”
