Broadcast and cable channels without regional sports
(Image credit: FuboTV)
Fubo and Disney just announced a merger between their respective Live TV services early this month. With that coupling in the works, this week, Fubo revealed that one of its cheapest streaming TV plans is getting a price hike.
Beginning now, people on the "Essential" plan will have to pay $85 a month to watch broadcast and cable channels sans regional sports channels. These include channels from Disney, Fox, NBC Universal, Paramount and others.
Fubo, as of this writing, has not officially announced the price bump from anywhere that we could find. However, you can see the hike on the Fubo website now.
The Essential plan is relatively new to Fubo, introduced in December 2024, starting at $80. Now, it costs the same as the Pro plan and offers slightly fewer channels but is somewhat cheaper on deals. However, the big difference between the Pro plan and the other is that it offers more regional sports channels.
It also means that Fubo's cheapest non-Latine plan is nearly the most expensive live TV streaming service on the market. As noted by Michael Saves on Twitter. Even compared to the recent price hike for YouTubeTV.
According to The Desk, Fubo claims the price hike offsets "rising costs from our programming partners." Essentially, channel owners are charging more to distribute their channels, according to Fubo.
It's unclear if Fubo raising prices on one plan is related to the announced merger. In that deal, Fubo would take over the Live TV portion of Hulu with Live TV. Reportedly, that merger would enable Fubo to get bundles of Disney channels like ESPN, ABC, and FX at cheaper prices.
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That merger isn't happening overnight and is expected to consolidate over the next 12 to 18 months.
For now, the Essentials plan has become inessential.
Scott Younker is the West Coast Reporter at Tom’s Guide. He covers all the lastest tech news. He’s been involved in tech since 2011 at various outlets and is on an ongoing hunt to build the easiest to use home media system. When not writing about the latest devices, you are more than welcome to discuss board games or disc golf with him. He also handles all the Connections coverage on Tom's Guide and has been playing the addictive NYT game since it released.
