Fubo is A/B Testing New Tiers to See If Users Are Willing to Pay the Same for Fewer Channels

As a journalist who has covered Fubo for the past 6 years, I can tell you they are tremendously difficult to pin down.

The free trial changes constantly, usually dropping to just a single day during the first day of a new sports season. Sometimes, they try forcing users to sign up for quarterly plans, removing the monthly option. They also love to hide their regional sports fee (as much as $16.99) until the last possible moment.

Despite launching its less expensive Sports + News tier in September, they still haven’t coughed up a list of markets where it’s available. You just have to visit their website and your IP address will surface the plan if it’s an option.

Today, we discovered Fubo is A/B testing replacement tiers for its current Pro ($73.99) and Elite ($83.99) levels. Core and Ultra are priced the same as the standard Fubo plans, but you’ll get fewer channels for the same amount of money. (As always, you may need to add up to $16.99 to the price, depending on the regional sports networks where you live.)

Some users visiting the Fubo homepage will see options different from what the majority sees.

The dropdown from Pro (current) to Core (in testing) is particularly brutal, dropping 2 of the 30 most-watched TV channels: MeTV and Game Show Network.

Core would also lose AXS TV, Bloomberg TV, Catchy Comedy, Curiosity Channel, FETV, FMC (Fox Movie Channel), Great American Family, H&I (Heroes & Icons), MeTV Toons, MeTV+, Movies!, QVC2, and Story TV.

If Ultra comes to pass, you’d lose the following channels from Elite: Cheddar News, i24 News, QVC2, ROI TV, Sony Movie Channel, and The Young Turks.

Comparing the Current and Proposed Fubo Packages

The Bottom Line

I’ve used Fubo in the past and I appreciate some things about it. But their lack of transparency is frustrating from a journalism angle, let alone from a consumer standpoint.

With CEO David Gandler now occupied with running Hulu + Live TV, watching his stock crater, panicking, and typing up frothy letters to juice the stock price, it’s unlikely Fubo will change its stripes anytime soon.

It’s actually helpful Fubo lost all the NBCUniversal, Versant, and Warner Bros. Discovery channels. It makes it an easy service to ignore when you’re considering a live TV provider. Although it has the second-strongest regional sports lineup, it’s so far behind DIRECTV, it’s barely a competition.

If you’re subscribed to Fubo, it’s time to step back and ask yourself why. After all, your channel package could change tomorrow and you won’t get any pricing relief.

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