FuboTV, a sports-focused over-the-top streaming service, has made its first move outside North America, expanding into Spain. News of the expansion comes shortly after FuboTV announced it had reached 250,000 paying subscribers in the U.S.
FuboTV CEO David Gandler told Reuters that the company selected Spain because of the country’s high rates of video piracy, which indicate a likely demand for lower-cost streaming services, and also because of Spain’s strong soccer culture. FuboTV originally launched in 2015 with a focus on soccer, before pivoting in early 2017 to become a broader streaming service that offers additional sports and entertainment television. FuboTV’s Spanish service includes 13 channels and costs €3.99 ($4.55) a month. FuboTV is also considering expansion into southeast Asia, according to Reuters.
In the U.S. and Canada, FuboTV has streaming rights to broadcast live games from MLB, the NFL, the NBA, the NHL, UFC, the PGA Tour, as well as all major soccer leagues, and NCAA football. A premium U.S. subscription costs $44.99 per month and offers 108 channels across sports, news, and entertainment.
TV networks Fox and Sky Sports both invested in FuboTV in 2016. AMC Networks contributed to FuboTV’s $75 million Series D funding round this past April.
SportTechie Takeaway
FuboTV’s 250,000 U.S. subscribers is much smaller than streaming TV competitor Sling TV, which has 2.37 million subscribers. However, FuboTV did beat Sling TV with expansion into Europe through this Spanish service. In Spain, FuboTV will have to compete with fellow OTT sports streaming service DAZN. DAZN recently secured exclusive broadcasting rights in Spain for Europe’s premier men’s basketball league and also netted Spanish rights to stream the English Premier League and MotoGP.