Live TV services run the gamut from free to expensive, with FuboTV at the upper end of the market. It’s not cheap, but it might be the right cord-cutting choice if you want a lot of channels and if you like to watch sports.
FuboTV launched in 2015 with a focus on soccer, but it has evolved since then into one of the best cable TV alternatives. The lowest tier Starter Plan costs $65 and comes with over 120 channels, including the major broadcast and cable networks, and supports 4K streaming for select content (some of its competitors do not).
FuboTV’s interface is slick and well-designed and comes with 250 hours of Cloud DVR. Ultimately, this FuboTV review concludes that it’s right for you if you’re willing to spend an extra few bucks a month to build a more complete channel guide.
Pricing
FuboTV offers a free, seven-day trial of its default Starter plan, which costs $64.99 a month for over 120 channels, 250 hours of Cloud DVR storage, and three simultaneous streams.
The Ultra plan costs $84.99 and adds the Fubo Extra and Sports Plus packages on top of the Family plan.
All plans come with six profiles per account, so friends and family members can customize their preferences.
On top of one of the plans, Fubo users can pay for add-ons, like Showtime and Starz. There are also over a dozen add-on bundles and premium channels, which we outline below.
Availability and platforms
FuboTV is available on most major platforms:
- Web browsers (Chrome, Safari, Firefox)
- Most iPhones and iPads (iOS 10 and later)
- Most Android phones and tablets (OS 5.0 and later)
- Apple TV (4th gen and later)
- Roku (model 3600X and later)
- Samsung Smart TVs
- Fire TV (all models)
- Vizio Smartcast TVs
- All Chromecast devices
- Xbox consoles
The only typical streaming device missing is PlayStation 4 (which has Hulu with Live TV and YouTube TV).
Interface
Fubo’s interface is slick and well-designed. The black, gray, and white color palette is more attractive than YouTube’s stark, utilitarian look, though not quite as pleasing as Philo’s interface.
The menu is divided into a handful of tabs (which differ slightly between platforms). On the web, those tabs are Home, Sports, Shows, Movies, Guide, and Recordings. On mobile, the Shows and Movies sections are combined into Entertainment, while Recordings is labeled My Fubo.
The Home tab is broken down into sections, like Live TV, 4K on Demand, Live Sports, Popular Shows, and Popular Movies. The Sports tab shows all the games that are airing that day or on future days. The Shows and Movies tab highlights popular titles and content on-demand.
The Guide tab features the typical cable-like grid with a vertical list of networks and horizontal times. The networks are not alphabetized, so you may need to hunt for your preferred channels. But you can also favorite channels, so they always live at the top of the Guide.
The Recordings tab houses all the shows and movies you have recorded as well as a marker for how much Cloud DVR storage you’ve used.
Content and channels
Fubo’s channel lineup is huge. The largest among the higher-priced streaming services, FuboTV includes almost all of the local networks as well as top cable brands. In the summer of 2020, they added Disney-owned channels like ABC and ESPN but took away Turned-owned channels like CNN and TNT. Fubo is also lacking the A&E networks.
Fubo does offer Viacom-owned networks, like MTV, Comedy Central, and Nickelodeon. For their full channel lineup, check here.
The add-ons include two premium channels and several packages geared toward different interests, primarily niche sports. The service recently added MLB Network + MLB StrikeZone and the NHL Network.
Here’s a look at the add-on packages you can get from Fubo:
- Showtime ($10.99)
- AMC Premiere ($4.99)
- $10.99 for Sports Plus (NFL Red Zone, NBA TV, Tennis Channel, GolTV)
- $11.99 for Fubo Cycling
- $5.99 for International Sports Plus (Zona Futbol, Fox Soccer Plus)
- $4.99 for Adventure Plus (Outdoor Channel, Sportsman Channel, Outside TV)
- $7.99 for Latino Plus
- $7.99 for Rai Italia
- $14.99 for Portuguese Plus
- $4.99 for Entretenimiento Plus
- $5.99 for Fubo Extra (Cooking Channel, Game Show Network, Logo,
DVR
One of the main knocks against Fubo used to be the low amount of Cloud DVR storage. But a recent package overhaul changed for several of the plans. Now, the Family Plan comes with 250 hours. But consider that YouTube TV and Philo both give unlimited storage.
Like Sling, Fubo allows you to delete recordings, but it starts at only 50 hours and makes you pay $5 per month for 200 hours.
Fubo’s Recordings tab has a handy tracker to gauge how much DVR space you are using.
Read More: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/fubotv
