Fubo’s New Skinny Play

On September 2, 2025, Fubo will roll out Fubo Sports, a streamlined bundle priced at $45.99 for the first month and $55.99 thereafter. The package combines ESPN Unlimited—Disney’s new direct-to-consumer service—along with more than 20 live sports and broadcast networks, including ABC, CBS, FOX (select markets), NFL Network, SEC Network, Big Ten Network, and more. Features like unlimited DVR, Family Share, Multiview, and some 4K coverage extend Fubo’s reputation as a sports-first innovator.

The move is strategically timed just ahead of the football season and comes after Fubo settled its antitrust dispute with Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery over the ill-fated Venu Sports proposal. With Disney now holding a majority stake in Fubo, the company gains the flexibility to package ESPN alongside its own lineup in a way that appeals to cost-sensitive sports fans.

A Broader Industry Shift

Fubo’s announcement doesn’t exist in isolation—it’s part of a flurry of competitive launches that suggest an inflection point for the streaming market:

• ESPN Unlimited, launched August 21 at $29.99/month, delivers ESPN’s full linear lineup plus ESPN+.

• Fox One, also launched August 21 at $19.99/month, offers an all-in-one Fox app spanning sports, news, and entertainment.

• Beginning October 2, Disney and Fox will jointly sell an ESPN Unlimited + Fox One bundle for $39.99/month, undercutting Fubo’s price while offering sweeping coverage of marquee sports rights.

Each offering pares back bloated channel packages in favor of sports-first, wallet-friendly bundles. While traditional vMVPDs like YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV still sell full cable replacements at $70+, the new crop of skinny sports bundles shows how providers are repositioning for a consumer base fed up with ballooning costs.

Why Now?

Several forces converge to make this moment ripe for disruption:

• Consumer fatigue with cable-sized bundles: Viewers want access to live sports without paying for dozens of non-sports networks.

• Strategic realignments: Disney’s majority control of Fubo, combined with Fox’s own DTC push, unlocked new packaging options that were blocked only months ago.

• Seasonal demand: Launching around the NFL and college football season maximizes early adoption.

• Competitive urgency: ESPN, Fox, and Fubo are racing to establish subscriber footholds before rivals like Comcast, DirecTV, or Warner Bros. Discovery enter the sports-bundle fray.

INSIDER TAKE

We are at a pivotal moment in streaming: the long-promised era of skinny sports bundles has arrived. What started as niche experiments is now becoming a full-scale competitive category, with major players (Disney, Fox, Fubo) pushing differentiated offerings at the same time. The dynamics are clear:

• Pricing pressure will intensify. With ESPN + Fox One bundling at $39.99/month, Fubo will need to lean on its richer feature set and local broadcast access to justify a $55.99 price point.

• Consolidation is inevitable. As companies experiment, expect partnerships and cross-distribution deals to determine winners and losers.

• Consumer behavior is the wild card. Will fans pay for multiple sports services, or settle on one “anchor” bundle and fill in gaps elsewhere?

For subscription executives, this moment mirrors past pivots in music and video streaming: disruption at the edges that quickly reshapes the core market. The next 6–12 months will reveal whether Fubo’s higher-end approach or Disney/Fox’s aggressive bundling becomes the model for the next decade of sports streaming.