FuboTV passes US$1bn revenue milestone

Sports-themed streaming outfit FuboTV, which owns French streamer Molotov, passed the US$1 billion revenue milestone last year. However, the company turned in a net loss of US$561.9 million, and an EBITDA loss of US$323 million, as it continued to burn cash to finance its operations.

In North America, Fubo took US$984 million in total revenue, up 55% year-over-year, including $100 million in advertising revenue, and reached 1.445 million subscribers, up 29% year-over-year.

Fubo’s fourth quarter revenue in North America was US$312.1 million, up 36% year-over-year, while ad revenue was US$33.6 million during the quarter, up 30% year-over-year.

In the Rest of World, including Molotov, which it acquired in 2021, the company delivered US$7.2 million in revenue and 420,000 total paid subscribers, up 117% year-over-year) during the fourth quarter.

With US$343.2 million in cash and equivalents, the company said it remained confident in its current liquidity position.

Fubo followed up the year end by introducing a sharp price increase, increasing the cost to US consumers taking the recently acquired Bally’s regional sports networks in its base plan by US$14-US$16. As a result Fubo expects only moderate subscriber growth this year of around 5%, with a focus on driving up revenue.

Fubo recently abandoned its betting play in order to focus more on achieving profitability.

Chief financial officer John Janedis said that the company expects operating cash flow losses to moderate this year, with 2022 representing a year of peak losses.

The company also said its FAST channel strategy was beginning to contribute to its margin, with 80 or so FAST channels delivering 5% of advertising revenue last year compared with 1% for the prior year.

Co-founder and CEO David Gandler said that Fubo had “been working tirelessly to continue to improve the financial profile of the company” and described the price increases as “an attempt to really drive down cash burn and increase profitability”.