FuboTV says it’s taking share from MVPDs and virtual MVPDs

Virtual MVPD fuboTV is still small compared to its competitors but the service is consistently adding subscribers, which it said it’s taking from MVPDs and vMVPDs alike.

CEO David Gandler, speaking today at a Roth investor conference, said there are still 75 million traditional pay TV subscribers so it makes the most sense for fuboTV to focus on that group of consumers. He said it helps keep fuboTV’s customer acquisition costs down to focus on a larger total addressable market.

However, Gandler said his company is starting to see some existing vMVPD subscribers switch over to fuboTV but the majority of the service’s subscribers are coming from the traditional pay TV ecosystem.

Gandler also predicted that consumers that are not currently with traditional or virtual MVPDs could eventually start coming over to vMVPDs like fubo as new SVOD services gradually raise prices.

RELATED: FuboTV tests new pricing plans

“As they do that and people start to realize that you can actually just get one user experience and get the majority of that type of content for a better price with better data, better targeting and better content servicing,” he said. “There are a lot of dynamics that will change over the next 24 to 36 months.”

FuboTV ended 2020 with 547,880 subscribers, which it said marked 73% growth year over year. However, fuboTV warned of another soft first quarter due to the seasonality associated with service’s focus on live sports. The current quarter, the service issued subscriber guidance in the 520,000-530,000 range, which it said would represent growth of 81-84% year over year but a sequential decline of 3-5%.

FuboTV competitors like AT&T TV Now – which has been folded into AT&T TV – and Hulu + Live TV both lost subscribers in the fourth quarter.

As fuboTV looks to sustain its subscriber growth, the company is testing out new pricing tiers. It is currently testing a Pro plan that costs $69.99 per month and expands cloud DVR hours to 1,000 and adds the ability to stream on up to 10 devices on home internet and two outside of the home.