FuboTV, which has been looking to set itself apart as it competes with the likes of Hulu with Live TV and YouTube TV, has just given itself a new, slimmed-down name: Fubo.
Kicking off a new branding campaign with the tagline “If Sports Fans Built a Streaming Service,” the sports-focused Fubo will debut a series of ads starring NBA Hall-of-Famer Kevin Garnett (pictured above) and former NFL quarterback Mark Sanchez, with the campaign co-produced by Ryan Reynold’s Maximum Effort production company.
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In a press release, Fubo CEO David Gandler noted that FuboTV subscribers had already “affectionately shortened” the streaming service’s name to “Fubo,” and the company decided to roll with it.
Besides the ad campaign, Fubo will also be rolling out an “updated visual identity,” although it’s not clear whether the new look will include any functionality tweaks.
FuboTV–er, Fubo–offers a wide variety of regional sports coverage, including (as our reviewer noted) a “big bundle of sports, news, and entertainment channels” starting at $75 a month.
That starting fee doesn’t include regional sports fees that are mandatory for most subscribers, an extra charge that flies in the face of Fubo’s “no hidden fees” promise. Those regional sports fees range between $11 and $14 a month.
“By not disclosing those fees upfront, FuboTV is embracing a long-standing sneaky cable TV tactic, and it ought to be called out for doing so at every opportunity,” our columnist Jared Newman wrote last month.
Fubo has pushed back at that characterization, with a spokesperson arguing that the fee is “disclosed to customers when they check out.”
Besides its 140-channel lineup, Fubo offers a cloud DVR with 1,000 hours of storage, and you can keep the recordings as long as you want.
While it offers an unparalleled buffet of regional sports coverage, Fubo is missing some key networks that are must-haves for sports fans, including TNT, TBS, and TruTV.
Fubo is competing with live TV services such as Hulu with Live TV and YouTube TV, the latter of which is the new home of NFL Sunday Ticket.
Hulu with Live TV costs $69.99 a month, while YouTube TV costs $72.99 a month following a recent price hike.
Updated on March 23, 2023 with a correction: The Fubo spokesperson who countered the assertions in Jared Newman’s article was responding directly to Newman, not to The Desk as our story originally stated. Our apologies for the error.
Author: Ben Patterson, Senior Writer, TechHive
Ben has been writing about technology and consumer electronics for more than 20 years. A PCWorld contributor since 2014, Ben joined TechHive in 2019, where he has covered everything from smart speakers and soundbars to smart lights and security cameras. Ben's articles have also appeared in PC Magazine, TIME, Wired, CNET, Men's Fitness, Mobile Magazine, and more. Ben holds a master's degree in English literature.