Virtual MVPD operator FuboTV has announced the addition of Boston regional sports channel NESN to its Fubo Premier base package.
The home of Major League Baseball’s Boston Red Sox and the National Hockey League’s Boston Bruins, the New England Sports Network will “soon” be available to FuboTV subscribers in Connecticut (excluding Fairfield County), Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.
Streaming a base collection of more than 65 live broadcast and cable channels for $44.99 a month ($19.99 for the first two months with promotion) in the NESN footprint, FuboTV lacks ESPN and TNT, but is trying to carve out its niche in sports programming nonetheless.
On a national level, Fubo Premiere includes Fox Sports 1 & 2, CBS Sports Network and NBC Sports Network. But the vMVPD has made significant progress in recent months nailing down RSNs for specific coverage zones.
For example, it carries about 20 Fox Sports-branded regional sports channels around the country. It also carries the YES Network, home of the New York Yankees and NBA’s Brooklyn Nets; six Comcast RSNs now branded under the “NBC Sports” moniker; and college sports focused channels Big Ten Network and Pac-12 Network.
FuboTV is also heavily focused on Latin audiences favoring soccer, carrying Bein Sports channels, for example.
The startup, privately funded with $75.6 million in VC, is trying to carve a niche in an OTT space that includes huge operators such as AT&T, Dish Network, Hulu, Sony and Google.
“Red Sox fans that want the most sports for the least money will now be able to watch 150 games a year on fuboTV, and Bruins fans can now catch every minute of every game, at home or on the go, on their favorite device,” said Ben Grad, fuboTV head of North American content strategy and acquisition, in a statement “From Boston to Burlington, Vermont and from Presque Isle, Maine to the Hartford market, fans can now watch the best of New England sports on our impressive sports package.”