• Loading stock data...
Sunday, July 13, 2025
opinion
Media

Fubo’s Fight Against Streaming Giants Feels Futile

  • Fubo got a milestone win when it sought and won a temporary injunction to delay the launch of Venu, a sports bundle from Disney, Fox, and WBD.
  • But Fubo still has fewer than two million subscribers, and the stock is down in a year when the S&P has soared.
FuboTV signage
Shutterstock
May 31, 2025; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Sydney McLaughin-Levrone (USA) reacts before the women's 100m hurdles during the Grand Slam Track Philadelphia at Franklin Field
Exclusive

Track’s New Money Is Running Into Old Problems

The sport’s big-money era has hit some speed bumps in 2025.
Read Now
July 13, 2025 |

Fubo has been an underdog in the streaming wars since its debut in 2016. But people don’t choose their streaming provider based on wanting to support the underdog. 

The pay-TV app bundles an array of live channels from elsewhere à la Disney-owned Hulu + Live TV, Google-owned YouTube TV, and Dish-owned Sling TV. Those are behemoths to reckon with already, but when you add in Venu Sports, a new sports-focused “skinny bundle” from the powerful triumvirate of Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery that was set to launch in time for the NFL season, the competitive landscape looks positively insurmountable for a small player. 

That’s why Fubo sued in February to stop Venu, and in August, it notched a big legal win: a judge granted the temporary injunction, blocking Venu from launching—for now. The three giants behind Venu immediately appealed the ruling, and arguments are coming in December. (The full Venu trial will not happen until next October.)

Fubo stock (FUBO) got a brief 30% pop after the Venu victory, then fell back. Shares are down 50% in 2024, while the S&P is up 22%. A brutal Motley Fool headline declared last month, “FuboTV Stock Is Down 97% From Its Peak, but It’s Still Not a Buy.” 

CEO David Gandler says his company has exceeded expectations in almost every quarter it has been public, and that the reason the stock sucks is… the competition. (Well, yes.)

“The stock trades in a way that doesn’t make a lot of sense,” he told me in an interview this month. “That really is due to the predatory pricing that we’ve been dealing with, the monopolistic attempts to preclude us from providing a package that’s similar to even what some of the other players out there have. … We have been hamstrung. We’ve had not only our arms or hands tied behind our back, but our feet tied behind our back as well.”

Maybe it’s also down because Fubo still isn’t profitable, and in Q2 it lost subscribers in the U.S., dipping to 1.45 million, down from 1.51 million in Q1 and down from a peak of 1.61 million in Q4 2023. (We’ll get Q3 earnings Nov. 1.) 

Fubo’s argument about Venu is at least directionally right: It doesn’t seem fair these TV giants are willing to come together to launch a skinny bundle when they’ve never been willing to license specific channels to anyone else to do a skinny bundle. But is it anti-competitive? 

Lawmakers, including Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.), Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.), and Joaquin Castro (D., Texas), sent a letter in support of Fubo before the injunction, and the Department of Justice is reportedly preparing to do the same. Six Republican-led states filed an amicus brief last month in support of Venu, writing that the injunction against Venu robs consumers of a competitive product at a better price. (Fubo Pro will run you $79.99 per month. Venu planned to charge half that: $42.99 per month.)

Anecdotally, I don’t know anyone who watches TV through Fubo. I use YouTube TV and am very happy with the service. Gandler points out that competing with Google is absolutely brutal: “They are the internet, basically … it’s hard to compete when you can’t buy ad units on YouTube that YouTube TV gets when they cover the play button on the video player. You can’t buy that. Or when they leverage the Google.com homepage and push people to YouTube.”

As Gandler frames it, almost angrily: “We’re the challenger. Everyone’s putting out all the stops to attempt to foil our growth trajectory. It certainly is difficult.”

Indeed, Fubo is David, taking on the Goliath(s) of the streaming wars. But the Goliaths have brand awareness, pricing power, and gargantuan scale. 

Fubo is hanging its whole future on the Venu battle. A lawyer for Fubo even said during the injunction hearing that if the judge didn’t grant the injunction, Fubo would “run out of cash by the first quarter of next year.”

But the cynic in me thinks that even if Venu never launches, it doesn’t mean the skies will clear and Fubo will suddenly fly.

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

breaking

Chelsea Wins $110M in FIFA’s Revamped $1B Club World Cup

Chelsea defeated Paris Saint-Germain in Sunday’s final match.

Sinner Outduels Alcaraz for First Wimbledon Title and $4M Payday

The best two players in men’s tennis battled once again.
May 31, 2025; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Sydney McLaughin-Levrone (USA) reacts before the women's 100m hurdles during the Grand Slam Track Philadelphia at Franklin Field
exclusive

Track’s New Money Is Running Into Old Problems

The sport’s big-money era has hit some speed bumps in 2025.
Bobbleheads are seen at Vintage Indy Sports, Tuesday, April 29, 2025 in Speedway. The local sports memorabilia store opened recently.

Baseball’s Bobbleheads Are the Center of the Collectibles Universe

Baseball’s most important keepsake drives long lines—and big business.

Featured Today

Rimouski, QC - JUNE 1: Final Game of the 2025 Memorial Cup between the Medicine Hats Tigers and the London Knights on June 1, 2025, at the Colisée Financière Sun Life in Rimouski, Qc.

CHL Is Facing a ‘Pandora’s Box’ of Questions Amid NCAA Talent Departure

As players defect to college, the Canadian Hockey League won’t cede ground.
Jun 28, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh (29) bats during the game between the Texas Rangers and the Seattle Mariners at Globe Life Field.
July 9, 2025

The Torpedo Bat Business Is Still Going Strong: ‘Here to Stay’

Demand for the oddly shaped bats has stayed strong across the sport.
July 6, 2025

American Celebs Want to Be Sports Owners. Soccer Is Where They Start

As U.S. team prices climb, investors set their sights abroad.
July 5, 2025

Baseball’s Celebrity Row: Behind MLB’s First-Pitch Ritual

Often planned, sometimes spontaneous, the ritual throw is baseball’s celebrity row.
Paige Bueckers
exclusive
July 8, 2025

Women’s March Madness Expansion Wouldn’t Yield More ESPN Money

ESPN is not required to pay extra if women’s March Madness expands.
Jul 10, 2025; Wimbledon, United Kingdom; Iga Swiatek of Poland at her on court interview after winning her match against Belinda Bencic of Switzerland on day 11 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.
July 10, 2025

Wimbledon Set to Deliver Strong Finals Matchup for ESPN

Novak Djokovic is still in the hunt for his 25th Grand Slam.
Sponsored

Game On: Portfolio Players Stories, Brought to You by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

Dealmaker Jeffrey Kaplan maps the evolution of sports as an asset class
Feb 7, 2025; Storrs, Connecticut, USA; UConn Huskies center Tarris Reed Jr. (5) reacts after his basket against the St. John's Red Storm in the first half at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion.
July 8, 2025

After Decade Apart, ESPN and Big East Rekindle Media Rights Relationship

After a decade-plus apart, the network will stream hundreds of conference events.
Jul 6, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Mexico forward Marcel Ruiz (14) heads the ball in front of United States midfielder Brenden Aaronson (11) in the second half during the 2025 Gold Cup Final at NRG Stadium.
July 7, 2025

USMNT Struggles Still Produce Big Gold Cup Ratings for Fox

The U.S. team’s recent issues culminated in a loss to Mexico.
July 2, 2025

Paramount Settles Trump Suit Ahead of NFL Season, Skydance Merger

The deal likely allows the much larger Skydance merger deal to proceed.
Leo Messi
June 27, 2025

TNT, Club World Cup Ride Messi to Surprisingly Solid Debut Ratings

TNT Sports carries about a third of matches in the U.S.