Fubo exceeds guidance during Q1, despite subscriber loss

Sports-first streamer Fubo saw double digit year-over-year growth during the first quarter, despite subscriber loss amidst its battle against the launch of WBD, Disney and Fox’s sports streaming JV.

Fubo posted 1.51 million subscribers in North America (NA) for Q1, down from 1.61 million at the end of 2023. However, the streamer grew its subscriber base by 18% YoY, compared to the Q1 the year prior. It also exceeded the midpoint of its subscriber guidance of 1.42 million for the quarter.

Fubo also grew NA revenue by 24%  over the prior year period to $394 million, surpassing the midpoint of its guidance of $370 million. This was contributed by a 25% YoY increase in subscription revenue and an addition of $27.2 million in NA Advertising revenue, up by 21% YoY.

In the Rest of World (ROW), the company delivered 397,000 paid subscribers, up 5% YoY, and $8.4 million total revenue, up 7% YoY, during the quarter. ARPU reached $7, up 7% YoY. The results include Fubo’s acquired French live TV streaming service Molotov.

In a shareholder’s letter, the company said, “Our Q1 performance builds upon the strong momentum achieved in the prior year and underscores continued solid execution on our long-term strategy and profitability goals. Our disciplined approach toward managing our costs resulted in a significant, further reduction in operating expenses as percentage of revenue and improved gross margins. The quarter also marked a healthy year-over-year improvement in profitability and cash usage, reflecting the success of our continuing initiatives focused on increasing efficiency across our global operations.”

Fubo filed a lawsuit against the partners of the planned streamer in February, with the preliminary injunction hearing to take place on August 7. It alleges the JV will destroy competition and inflate prices for consumers. The company also recently dropped all WBD networks as part of its channel line-up this week, including Discovery and TNT Sports, following a dispute with WBD over licensing fees.

Commenting on the joint venture, Fubo boss David Gandler said on an investor call, “the pending launch of those companies’ joint venture is an existential challenge that we face, one that we are committed to meeting, in part through our suit to enjoin the launch of the joint venture until and unless the playing field in the industry has been leveled. Nearly 90 days after filing our lawsuit, while it remains early, we are encouraged by the progress we have made so far.”

The company recently sent a letter with seven other co-signers to the US congress urging committee members to launch an inquiry into the creation of the sport streaming powerhouse.