Fubo is raising most of its plan prices by $15 a month, reversing discounts it gave customers during its NBCUniversal carriage dispute.
Fubo is raising prices across most of its live television plans in the coming weeks, a direct result of the sports focused streaming service’s newly restored carriage agreement with NBCUniversal. The company notified affected subscribers by email and posted details on its support portal, framing the increase as tied to bringing NBC, Telemundo, Bravo and the new NBC Sports Network back onto the platform.
What is changing and why
Most English language Fubo plans will see a $15 monthly increase, though the Fubo Sports + News plan will rise by a smaller $9 a month. Fubo’s entry level Essential plan will climb to $89 monthly, while its top tier Deluxe plan will reach $119. Subscribers billed quarterly will see the new pricing apply once their plan renews, unless they make changes before that renewal date.
Customers in markets served by NBC Sports regional networks, including New England, Philadelphia and the Bay Area, will also pay an additional $15.99 monthly regional sports fee on top of the base increase.
Fubo has said the $15 figure breaks down into two parts, an $11 reversal of the discount customers received while NBC’s channels were unavailable, plus roughly $4 in new carriage fees the company now owes NBCUniversal under the restored agreement. The price changes will roll out gradually as individual channels actually launch on the platform, rather than taking effect for everyone at once, since local NBC affiliates, NBC Sports Network and Bravo have not yet fully returned to the service.
The dispute that led here
The increase follows the resolution of a carriage standoff that stretched for months after Fubo’s prior agreement with NBCUniversal expired in November. The dispute dragged through major sports moments, including the Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics, leaving the streaming service without access to NBC’s channels for an extended stretch.
During that period, Fubo directed customers toward Peacock as an alternative for live sports and entertainment, earning referral commissions each time a subscriber signed up through the streaming service’s affiliate program. That arrangement meant the streaming service continued profiting from NBCUniversal content even while unable to carry the company’s channels directly.
Fubo executives had previously suggested the standoff might persist until NBCUniversal’s separate contract with Hulu neared expiration, a notable detail given that the streaming service operates as an independent subsidiary of Disney, which owns Hulu. The impasse ultimately broke in June, when Fubo announced the new deal restoring its broadcast network, Bravo and national sports channels.
What is still missing
Even with NBC’s channels returning, Fubo’s lineup remains incomplete. The new deal does not include channels spun out of Comcast into the newly separate Versant company earlier this year, meaning SyFy, E!, USA Network and Golf Channel remain unavailable on the platform, with no clear timeline for their return. Comcast, which continues to own NBCUniversal directly, appears willing to negotiate NBC’s channels separately from Versant’s lineup in deals with distributors like Fubo.
How Fubo compares now
Even after the increase, Fubo’s cheapest option, the Sports + News plan, remains priced in line with competitors like YouTube TV and DirecTV’s sports package, all sitting around $65 a month. However, those competing services carry Versant and Warner Bros. Discovery channels that the streaming service currently lacks, and YouTube TV separately offers NBC Sports Network, which the streaming service has only recently begun rolling out.
Sling’s Orange and Blue plan runs slightly higher at $69.99 monthly but includes a broader mix of general entertainment channels. Hulu Plus Live TV, Fubo’s sister service under Disney, starts at $89.99 monthly, though it bundles in access to Hulu and Disney Plus.
The broader trend across live TV streaming has moved steadily upward in recent years. Services that once undercut cable substantially, such as YouTube TV’s original $35 monthly launch price in 2017, now often exceed $60 to $65 for sports focused tiers alone, with general entertainment add ons pushing costs higher still. As consumers continue voicing frustration over the rising cost of watching live sports, Fubo’s latest increase suggests little relief is likely in the near term.