Fubo TV Revenue Passes $100M For First Time In Q4, With Subscribers Approaching 550,000
FuboTV ended 2020 on an upswing, reporting $105.1 million in revenue and 547,880 subscribers to its internet-delivered pay-TV bundle.
The company reported a net loss of $167.8 million in the period. That figure as well as the revenue number — Fubo’s first quarter above $100 million — beat Wall Street analysts’ consensus forecasts.
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The company raised its revenue guidance for 2021 to $460 million to $470 million, predicting it will have 760,000 to 770,000 subscribers by the end of the year.
While Fubo has showed notable growth of late, it has been in the market since 2015 and remains a fraction of the size of internet TV rivals like Hulu, YouTube TV and Sling. One unique key to its future growth, the company says, is sports betting. The company said it has closed its acquisition of sports betting and interactive gaming company Vigtory, clearing the way for the company to ramp up sports betting. In the third quarter of this year, the company plans to launch free-to-play gaming and in the fourth quarter will bring out Fubo Sportsbook.
Because Fubo bills itself as a “sports-first” bundle, gaming is a natural extension and will attract new subscribers and limit churn, according to co-founder and CEO David Gandler.
The company plans to use artificial intelligence tools to combine the lean-back TV experience with lean-forward sports betting. Gandler said Fubo collects about 22 billion data points per month. “We do a good job surfacing content for our users — the right content at the right time,” Gandler said during a videoconference with analysts, citing a 66% increase in the amount of streaming hours during the quarter. “We think we can leverage that data for wagering as well. We think there are a lot of areas where our video team can support the wagering group in really driving a lot of engagement.”
FuboTV stock has been volatile and analysts have issued both flaming-hot and icy-cold outlooks in recent months but it has posted nearly 400% over the past year. It added another 8% Tuesday to close the regular trading day at $41.89 but then slipped more than 6% after hours once the quarterly and full-year results hit the wire.
Subscriber gains accelerated in the fourth quarter, when the company added 92,800 subscribers, up 237% from the fourth quarter a year earlier, with football a major draw. The company had reached a landmark distribution deal with Disney, adding college and NFL football as well as the NBA playoffs in the fourth quarter. For the second half of 2020, Fubo nearly doubled, adding 261,754 net subscribers.
Average revenue per user rose 17% in the quarter to $69.19.
