Josh Hendrickson
Following in the footsteps of YouTube TV, fuboTV is raising its pricing to $65 a month. But while it recently added Disney channels, the price change coincides with dropping Turner Network channels. To make matters worse, it’s automatically bumping existing users to more expensive plans, even though it’s still offering the less expensive options.
For the unfamiliar, fuboTV is another streaming service that positions itself as an alternative to cable bundles. While it does focus heavily on sports, it offers content from a variety of networks and channels. It recently added ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ABC, Disney Channel, Disney Jr, Disney XD, Freeform, FX, FXX, and Nat Geo, with a promise of more Disney content to come.
But now it’s also dropping Turner Network channels, including TNT, TBS, CNN, Adult Swim, Cartoon Network, Boomerang, truTV, HLN, TCM, CNN Español, and CNN International. As is often the case with cable and streaming, negotiations broke down, leading to a loss of channels.
All of that might be par for the course, but even as fuboTV is losing access to twelve channels, it’s raising prices on users. For some, the bump is minor, as they’ll see their bill go from $60 to $64 a month.
But others may feel more of a sting. fuboTV plans to automatically move its subscribers on the standard $55 plan to the $65 Family plan, whether or not they ask for it. The family plan does come with more features, specifically three simultaneous streams, Cloud DVR Plus, and 500 hours of DVR space, but those users may not have needed those features.
It’s possible to stay on the standard plan, as fuboTV isn’t getting rid of it currently, but the only way to avoid bumping up to the more expensive plan is to call customer service. Anyone unaware of the changes will find out when the higher bill comes in.
Even if they stay, or if new subscribers sign up for the standard plan, the price will go up to $60, a $5 increase over the previous pricing. In an email to users, fuboTV claimed the changes increase the value of the service:
Sometimes to help us bring you new channels at the best value, and to deliver premium features like live sports in 4K, we need to remove other channels and adjust subscription prices. Turner networks will be leaving fuboTV as of July 1, 2020, and subscription prices will be changing.
Only time will tell if the company’s customers agree.
via Cord Cutter News
