Shares of streaming service fuboTV (FUBO 1.46%) got smacked down today -- as of 10:45 a.m. ET, fuboTV stock was down a disheartening 28% and still sliding. The company offers a streaming service for live sports. And news broke yesterday that competition in this space is about to become much more fierce.
Competition is coming for live sports streaming
As of the third quarter of 2023, fuboTV had nearly 1.5 million paying subscribers to its sports-centric service, which was a healthy 20% year-over-year increase. But it may not be so easy to attract subscribers in the future. On Feb. 6, Walt Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery announced a joint venture to create their own sports streaming service.
The announced joint venture has rights to the biggest sports properties, including professional football, professional basketball, college sports, and more. Simply put, this new streaming service -- expected to launch this fall -- will be attractive to anyone looking to switch from cable and still have access to live sports.
What does this mean for fuboTV?
The forthcoming streaming service from Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery isn't necessarily guaranteed to be successful -- these companies have yet to announce pricing, which is one factor that could hinder adoption. That said, given the sports properties this trio brings to the table, it's hard to envision where fuboTV fits in the streaming ecosystem from here.
Even as the largest sports streaming service in town, fuboTV hasn't been a lucrative business opportunity to date. It costs a lot to get the rights to stream sports, which has left the company with slim gross profits even in good quarters.
I've long felt like fuboTV was fighting an uphill battle. But things don't seem to be getting any easier in light of this news.
