The National Cable Television Cooperative has agreed to have its more than 850 members bundle and promote sports-focused virtual MVPD FuboTV for their broadband-only customers.
The deal was announced over the weekend at The Independent Show, a cable industry convention produced by NCTC and the American Cable Association, continuing in Indianapolis this week.
Under the agreement, NCTC operators will be able to promote the $34.99-per-month Fubo Premier package with free 30-day trials twice a year. Fubo Premier includes about 60 channels, 34 of which are sports-themed. It includes 80% of the nation’s regional sports networks.
“This partnership gives our members the ability to provide added value to their broadband customers, while also providing more content options for our members, who will now have access to a turnkey OTT video bundle that includes some of the most popular sports, news and entertainment channels on TV,” said John Childress, NCTC’s VP of product management. “There is growing demand from certain consumer groups towards live streaming video services, and we feel these partnerships help provide members options to reach these different types of consumers.”
RELATED: FuboTV adds Fusion TV to its entry-level bundle
It’s a fairly significant distribution deal for start-up FuboTV, which has raised more than $75 million in private equity, but finds itself going head to head with giant-backed v-MVPD services including Sling TV, DirecTV Now, YouTube TV and Hulu Live.
“As the only independent live streaming TV service in the space, we are looking forward to partnering with hundreds of independent providers to help them level the playing field in an increasingly competitive marketplace,” said David Gandler, FuboTV co-founder and CEO, in a statement. “I’m confident that this relationship will be mutually-beneficial, and am thrilled to be making this announcement in advance of fall TV premieres and the upcoming NFL, NBA, NHL, soccer and college football seasons, and the MLB pennant race.”