FuboTV to immediately shut down sportsbook
The decision was made following a strategic review of the business, which was launched in August after FuboTV said it could not operate its sports betting division alone in the current economic environment.
FuboTV said multiple parties had expressed interest in the betting business, but the provider also said that none of these opportunities would have allowed FuboTV to “lower its funding requirements and generate sufficient returns to shareholders”.
As a result, FuboTV will close Fubo Gaming and cease all operations of the Fubo sportsbook immediately.
“Following our previously announced strategic review, we have concluded that continuing with Fubo Gaming and Fubo Sportsbook in this challenging macroeconomic environment would impact our ability to reach our longer-term profitability goals,” FuboTV co-founder and chief executive David Gandler said.
“Therefore, we have made the difficult decision to exit the online sports wagering business effective immediately.”
The announcement came as FuboTV posted a selection of preliminary results for the third quarter, during which North American revenue for the business as a whole is expected to increase by 34% year-on-year to approximately $120m. Rest of world revenue is forecast to reach at least $5.5m.
Paid subscribers in North America for Q3 are expected to exceed 1,220,000, which would be more than 27% higher than last year, while rest of world paid subscribers could reach up to 350,000.
In addition, FuboTV said it expects to post approximately negative $100.0m of adjusted EBITDA in the third quarter, with cash and cash equivalents at the end of Q3 at least $300m.
FuboTV added that the preliminary results demonstrate continued progression towards its 2025 profitability targets.
“FuboTV’s strong preliminary third quarter 2022 results reflect meaningful advancements against our continued mission to profitably scale a leading global live TV streaming platform differentiated by the greatest breadth of premium content and interactivity,” Gandler, said.
“We expect to deliver strong revenue and subscriber growth in Q3, exceeding our previously issued guidance in North America, against the backdrop of a highly competitive operating environment. We’re pleased with this expected performance, and our progress toward achieving our positive cash flow target in 2025.
“We look forward to providing more colour, as well as discussing our full third quarter 2022 results and full year outlook, on our 4 November earnings call.”