Just a week after filling in a major gap in its network portfolio by signing a carriage deal with Disney, FuboTV is about to lose 11 WarnerMedia channels, including TNT, CNN and Cartoon Network.
As of 12:01AM ET on Wednesday, TNT, TBS, CNN, Adult Swim, Cartoon Network, Boomerang, truTV, HLN, TCM, CNN Español and CNN International are expected to go dark on Fubo. The internet-delivered pay-TV bundle added the portfolio two years ago.
In a statement referring to the “termination” of Fubo carriage, WarnerMedia did not appear to be leaving the door open for a deal. “We are disappointed that our deal with fuboTV is not being renewed, as we have been working with them and were open to a potential renewal,” the statement said.
A FuboTV rep did not immediately respond to Deadline’s request for comment.
WarnerMedia Gets Set To End FuboTV Carriage For 11 Of Its Networks https://t.co/WvFcaKduPd pic.twitter.com/zXwMXsML3P
— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) July 1, 2020
A person familiar with the WarnerMedia-Fubo negotiations indicated late payments of distribution fees contributed to friction between the sides. YouTube TV, a larger rival with more than 2 million subscribers, earlier Tuesday hiked its monthly prices 30%, blaming rising programming costs. Other players like Sling and AT&T TV have seen higher churn as they add channels and raise prices, not to mention the current economic gloom, even as the overall number of customers abandoning pay-TV continues to accelerate.
Fubo’s packages start at $55 a month for a basic plan and climb to $85 for those opting into premium and higher-tier networks.
Mitchell Landsberg is the senior reporter for News Raise and focuses on Technology. Mitchell regularly writes about social media platforms and how influencers, industry and general people use them to communicate and make money.
