Fubo reports 1.28m paid subs in US
May 5, 2023
FuboTV, the sports-first live TV streaming platform, has announced its Q1 financial results for the quarter ended March 31st 2023. Fubo’s North American streaming business exceeded guidance, posting double digit year-over-year (YoY) growth in total revenue ($316.5 million, up 34 per cent YoY) and paid subscribers (1.28 million, up 22 per cent YoY). The company is also raising full year subscriber guidance to 1.55 million-1.57 million subscribers (representing 8 per cent YoY growth at the midpoint) and total revenue guidance to $1.23 billion-$1.26 billion (representing 27 per cent YoY growth at the midpoint) in North America.
The company delivered ad revenue of $22.5 million in the quarter, remaining flat YoY against continued pressure on the advertising market. Fubo expects a reacceleration of growth in the second quarter.
Fubo’s Rest of World (ROW) streaming business also posted double digit growth in total revenue ($7.8 million, up 41 per cent YoY) and paid subscribers (379,000, up 24 per cent YoY) during the first quarter. ROW includes the results of Molotov, the French live TV streaming service acquired by Fubo in December 2021.
The first quarter also marked a substantial YoY improvement in Fubo’s cash usage, Net Loss and Adjusted EBITDA (AEBITDA) due to the company’s continued focus on unit economics, cost controls and path to profitability. Fubo also further strengthened its balance sheet and liquidity position, ending the quarter with $364.8 million in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash.
Fubo believes that its current cash balance is sufficient to achieve positive cash flow in 2025 based on its current operating plan. The company has no further plans to utilise the at-the-market (ATM) program based on its current outlook.
“We are pleased with Fubo’s execution to start 2023 – beating expectations across our KPIs – and our increased North America guidance for the year reflects our confidence in our continued leadership in streaming,” said David Gandler, co-founder and CEO, Fubo. “In addition, we remain confident in our path to generate positive cash flow in 2025. While the macro uncertainty continues, the second quarter has started well, with customer engagement ongoing and advertising accelerating sequentially. We look forward to keeping shareholders updated on our progress in the quarters to come.”
“Fubo’s strong first quarter results mark continued traction towards our 2025 profitability targets,” added Edgar Bronfman Jr, executive chairman, Fubo. “We meaningfully exceeded the midpoint of our first quarter subscriber growth and revenue guidance in North America by 135,000 subscribers and $19 million respectively. Considerable progress was also made toward our goal of becoming cash flow and Adjusted EBITDA (AEBITDA) positive. We are confident that our current cash balance is sufficient to achieve positive cash flow in 2025 based on our current operating plan. Accordingly, we have no further plans to utilise the at-the-market (ATM) programme based on our current outlook.”