At Q3 2025, Fubo TV surpassed Wall Street’s expectations and reported a total of 1.6 million subscribers in North America. Founded in 2015 as a soccer-focused streamer, Fubo evolved into a diversified sports-centric vMVPD that also includes news and entertainment through different bundles. It now operates in the U.S., Canada, Spain, and France (via the acquisition of Molotov in 2021). In early 2025, Disney acquired 70% of Fubo, merging it with Hulu + Live TV into a standalone, publicly traded entity. Can this alliance truly reinvent live television, or is it simply the last stand of the vMVPD model? After a seasonal slowdown in early 2025 due to NFL season, Fubo rebounded in North America with its strongest quarterly gain in over two years. The growth stems largely from the launch of the sports-focused skinny bundle at Q3, a USD $55.99 tier offering ESPN Unlimited and DAZN channels. This launch follows similar moves by traditional pay TV providers such as DirecTV and Comcast, which have introduced genre-based packages. The result: a 50% year-on-year drop in churn and a stronger foothold among casual sports fans. However, outside the US, subscriber erosion continued underlining how fragile its international base still is. The “Rest of World” segment fell to 340k subs, mostly from its European operations under Molotov. The merger with Hulu + Live aims at competing with Youtube TV The Hulu merger instantly transforms Fubo into the second-largest vMVPD in the U.S., behind Youtube TV, with 6.1 million subscribers as of Q3 2025. But Disney didn’t buy Fubo for its current scale: this is a "buy for growth" play. The goal is to challenge Youtube TV’s leadership and give Disney greater leverage over the distribution and affiliate fees negotiation of its linear networks. The timing of the announcement appeared not to be coincidental. In late October 2025, Disney’s channels — including ESPN, ABC, FX, and National Geographic — went dark on Youtube TV, following a dispute over carriage renewal that left nearly 10 million subscribers without access during peak sports season. The acquisition also settled Fubo’s antitrust lawsuit against Disney and its partners in the failed Venu Sports joint venture with Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery. Ad revenues decrease, but profits are finally in sight Fubo’s revenue mix remains dominated by subscriptions (around 93 % of total), with advertising revenues slightly declining from $30 million in Q3 2023 to $25 million in Q3 2025. In 2025, advertising dropped following channel removals of major content partners Warner Bros. Discovery and TelevisaUnivision. Indeed, the platform’s ad-insertable hours declined sharply, particularly affecting Hispanic audiences. To offset this, Fubo reduced the price of its Latino package and refocused ad inventory around sports. Post-merger with Hulu +...
