Fubo (formerly FuboTV) is a live, premium television streaming provider, which means it's a subscription-based service that offers broadcast TV channels and often includes Regional Sports Networks (RSNs).
Premium live TV streaming services like fubo tend to be pricier, with monthly subscriptions between $14.99-$94.99. When you compare this to the budget-friendly subscriptions of ESPN+ and Paramount+, it's a drastic price jump, so you might be thinking, "Why fubo?".
Why fubo?
Getty Images Aside from having the funkiest name on the market or a partnership with Ryan Reynolds for his new channel Maximum Effort, fubo looks to hit the back of the net with 220+ live broadcast channels, 1,000 hours of cloud DVR storage, unlimited streams on your home network, and one of the deepest program lists for live sports channels on the market.
Imagine Netflix for your favourite sports leagues and events, including Sports Plus with NFL RedZone and channels like NBA TV, Outdoor Channel, Tennis Channel, NHL Network, and MLB Network. That's all before touching on its incredibly comprehensive soccer coverage.
FuboTV is considered one of the best sports streaming services to watch international soccer in the US, with USA Network, FS1, beIN Sports, Univision and more. Covered leagues and competitions include the English Premier League, La Liga, USWNT games, the FIFA World Cup, the Saudi Pro League, the UEFA Champions League, the Europa League, and so much more.
Fubo subscription plans
Plans for fubo start at $14.99 and go up to $94.99 per month as part of a rolling contract. Currently there's a first month discount for each package, as noted below.
Plan | Monthly cost | First month price | What You Get |
|---|---|---|---|
Pro | $84.99 | $64.99 |
|
Elite | $94.99 | $74.99 |
|
Latino | $14.99 | $9.99 |
|
fuboTV pros
DVR capabilities
Fubo's DVR capabilities are consistent across all four packages, utilizing the Cloud. The only real difference is the 4K that comes as standard with the Elite subscription. Unlimited DVR is available at $0.99 if you don't wish to use the Cloud.
DVR Capabilities | Pro | Elite | Latino |
|---|---|---|---|
DVR Cloud Storage | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
DVR Cloud Expiration | Nine months | Nine months | Nine months |
Installation | No | No | No |
Picture quality | 720p | 4K | 720p |
Fubo offers and discounts
Fubo currently offers a five-day free trial for new subscribers across all packages. As laid out above, there's currently a first month deal which can offer customers $20 off for Pro and Elite plans and $5 off of Latino.
Fubo visual and audio quality
As mentioned, 720p is standard picture quality, with the Elite plan having 4K resolutions as standard. The Pro package doesn't have 4K available.
Fubo channels
Getty Images SportRegional sports networks
Fubo has an impressive selection of regional sports channels, but, as with most local channels, their availability depends on where you live.
- Altitude Sports
- FanDuel Sports (formerly Bally Sports)
- Marquee Sports Network
- MSG, MSG+
- NBC Sports
- Monumental Sports
- NESN
- ROOT Sports Northwest
- Space City Home Network
- SportsNet
Local channels
Fubo provides access to FOX, CBS, ABC, and NBC local channels in most places. It also offers Telemundo, The CW, Univision, and UniMas in eligible areas.
Entertainment channels
Fubo has a wide range, from Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, Nat Geo, and Sony movie channels to Cooking channel, and...The Bob Ross Channel? It's a thing.
Getty Images Fubo add-ons
Some of fubo's best sporting-based extras you can add to your monthly costs.
- NBA League Pass ($16.99/mo.)
- MLB.TV ($29.99/mo.)
- International Sports Plus ($6.99/mo.)
- Sports Lite ($9.99/mo.)
- Sports Plus with NFL RedZone ($10.99/mo.)
- Adventure Plus ($4.99/mo.)
- Fubo Extra ($7.99/mo.)
- Latino Plus ($19.99/mo.)
- News Plus ($2.99/mo., free with Elite.)
- RAI Italia ($8.99/mo.)
- Portuguese Plus ($14.99/mo.)
- TV5MONDE ($9.99/mo.)
- Entretenimiento Plus ($9.99/mo.)
Premium channels
Sadly, premium channels are not included in any packages, but you can purchase them individually or as a bundle.
- SHOWTIME ($10.99/mo.)
- STARZ ($10.99/mo.)
- MGM+ ($6.99/mo.)
- Paramount+ with SHOWTIME + STARZ + MGM+ ($19.99/mo.)
Fubo cons
Not compatible with Playstation and Nintendo consoles
Who isn't using their gaming console as one of your TV devices nowadays?
While newer Xbox devices have been added to the list of supported devices, it's surprising that fubo hasn't sorted this out yet. Fingers crossed, it's in the works.
Expensive plans
Compared to other streaming services on the market, fubo packages rack up when compared to Sling, Xfinity and YoutubeTV.
It blends with the prices you'd expect from cable or satellite TV services. Which, considering the number of channels fubo is missing, isn't something we're impressed with.
Speaking of which...
Missing key channels
It's easy to look at numbers at the hundreds of channels and think that you're all sorted. But if you look closely, fubo is missing some important channels in the lineup, which could significantly impact your viewing. Absentees include:
- A&E
- AMC
- BBC America
- Boomerang
- Cartoon Network / Adult Swim
- CNN
- CNN International
- CNN en Espanol
- HBO
- History
- ILN
- TBS
- TNT
- TruTV
- TCM
No parental controls
Another odd one for fubo not to integrate into a live streaming service which will be used for family entertainment.
Fubo vs competitors
Service provider | Subscriptions | Channels | DVR Storage | Full Price (monthly) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Fubo | Pro Elite Latino | 223 293 51 | Unlimited Cloud | $84.99 $94.99 $14.99 |
DISH | Americas Top 120 | 190 | Hopper 3 (2,000 hours) | $86.99 |
Americas Top 200 | 240 | Hopper 3 (2,000 hours) | $106.99 | |
Americas Top 250 | 290 | Hopper 3 (2,000 hours) | $116.99 | |
Xfinity | Choice TV | 10+ | Cloud DVR (150 hours) | $20.00 |
Popular TV | 125+ | Cloud DVR (150 hours) | $60.00 | |
Ultimate TV | 185+ | Cloud DVR (150 hours) | $80.00 | |
DIRECTV Stream | Entertainment | 90+ | Unlimited Cloud | $74.99 |
Choice | 125+ | Unlimited Cloud | $89.99 | |
Ultimate | 160+ | Unlimited Cloud | $119.99 | |
Premier | 185+ | Unlimited Cloud | $164.99 |
Fubo: The bottom line
Beyond their five-day free trial, fubo subscriptions are expensive; there's no way around that. But, sports fans, if your budget fits, you're putting your money towards an extensive programme of live soccer, NFL, NBA, motorsport, MLB and much more. Plus there's up to $20 off your first month, which is a nice incentive.
Bar the lack of parental safety features, fubo is also great family entertainment. You're covered by World Fishing Network all the way to Nickelodeon Junior and premium channels like SHOWTIME and STARZ.
So whether you're looking to watch live sports or endless friends re-runs or melt your brain watching the multi Oscar-winning Everything, Everywhere all at Once, fubo is a worthy investment.