Fubo CEO Goes on Embarrassing Victory Lap on X as Service Remains Flat on Subscribers YoY
Fubo’s CEO ran through the streets of X like Frank the Tank from “Old School” today, popping bottles and setting off fireworks even though the company ended Q3 with 1.631 domestic subscribers, up just 18,000 from one year ago.
Look at this.
Again, Fubo itself has just over 1.6 million subscribers. That 6 million number is only because CEO David Gandler is taking credit for the subscriber base of Hulu + Live TV – a service he didn’t build, and a company that bought Fubo just to shut them up and end a lawsuit.
Analyst Laura Martin from Needham & Company nailed Gandler to the wall with this question on the earnings call today:
“(Hulu has) 4 million subs. You guys have a million (point) six. Aren’t they the dog and you guys the tail? I know you’re running it, but isn’t the strategy sort of get eclipsed by theirs because they have so many more subs? Can you talk about just over the next six months, nine months, how much is really you driving this company compared to Hulu, which is so much larger?”
Gandler replied, “I do not know about dogs and tails, but I can tell you that this is no longer a fairy tale. Fubo will continue to drive significant growth.” And then he went on to talk about the ESPN assets he plans to leverage.
To be clear, Gandler doesn’t own the car, he’s just gets to drive it for now.
The third quarter is always a winner for live TV streamers as people return for football. Fubo is also a beneficiary of TNT losing the NBA. Fubo does not carry the channel, so anyone who may have avoided Fubo for that reason in the past may have less reason to avoid it. Fubo also introduced a lower-cost channel package, which might have helped them more if it were available nationally.
Gandler’s X victory lap included some other gems:
On today’s earning’s call, Gandler also said he is “very bullish” on international subscriptions. Tethering that sentiment to reality, Fubo lost 7,000 international subscribers this quarter and the service is down 26,000 international subscriptions from a year ago. International accounts are a drop in the bucket for Fubo at just 342,000.
Fubo’s stock fell nearly 10% on today’s numbers. It’s down 77% from 5 years ago. If Fubo is a fairy tale, it may be the Sorcerer’s Apprentice. Let’s see how Gandler steers Hulu after getting his hands on that big, magical hat. I suspect the Sorcerer will be back to claim it sooner than later.
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