- Sports based live TV streaming platform fuboTV has secured market access in New Jersey and Indiana.
- The market access agreement was made with Caesars Entertainment.
- fuboTV’s sportsbook is expected to launch in Q4 2021
Earlier this year we reported that sports streaming TV platform fuboTV is planning to launch a sportsbook by the end of 2021 leveraging technology from interactive gaming company Vigtory. fuboTV (NYSE: FUBO) purchased Vigtory in a deal that just recently closed. At the time of the announcement, they had already obtained market access in Iowa via the Casino Queen and that agreements for other states were ‘in the pipeline’.
Earlier today, market access agreements for a couple of new states popped out of the aforementioned pipeline. fuboTV announced that they’ve secured market access deals in Indiana and New Jersey through Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ: CZR). No specifics of the deal with Caesars was given but the takeaway is that fuboTV will have access at launch in at least three states.
Here’s what David Gandler, co-founder and CEO, fuboTV had to say about the new market access agreements:
“We could not be more excited to bring fubo Sportsbook to market in the fourth quarter, and today’s market access licenses for Indiana and New Jersey will help us reach even more consumers at launch.”
Here’s some of the most recent metrics from fuboTV re: viewership and revenue:
Yesterday, fuboTV announced it closed its strongest fourth quarter and year in its history, topping $100 million in quarterly revenue for the first time ($105.1 million actual). fuboTV ended 2020 with 547,880 paid subscribers, including 92,800 net subscriber additions in the fourth quarter. The company also announced further progress on fubo Sportsbook including agreements with Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association to become an Authorized Gaming Operator of each league.
fuboTV published a shareholder letter dated March 2, 2021 which among other things outlined some of their goals with the sports betting initiative:
Wagering & Interactivity
We believe our expected expansion into wagering and interactivity will further differentiate us from our peers. Free-to-play predictive games mark the beginning of fuboTV’s innovative gaming roadmap. We believe it will enhance the sports streaming experience -while also providing a bridge between video and our sportsbook. We expect the integration of gaming with our expansive live sports coverage will createa flywheel that improves engagement and retention, as well as drives advertising revenue.
We’re excited to announce we’ve officially closed our acquisition of sports betting and interactive gaming company Vigtory, which allows us to accelerate the launch of our owned and operated sportsbook, fubo Sportsbook. We have secured our first market access deal for our sportsbook in Iowa through Casino Queen. We are also excited to announce agreements with Major League Baseball (MLB) and the National Basketball Association (NBA) to become an Authorized Gaming Operator of each league. These agreements will provide access to official data and include MLB and NBA league marks and logos within fubo Sportsbook once it is rolled out.
We plan to launch free-to-play predictive games in the third quarter (first to fuboTV subscribers and later to all consumers)and our sportsbook in the fourth quarter. Ultimately, we intend to integrate fubo Sportsbook into fuboTV’s live TV streaming platform for a seamless viewing and wagering experience. Our platform provides unique customer opportunities that combine video streaming with wagering including cross marketing and promotion.
The shareholder letter also included a mockup of a fubo Sportsbook mobile app:
fuboTV’s move into sports betting is intriguing but it remains to be seen how it works out for them. Best case scenario–it creates synergy, cross promotion and a bunch of other corporate buzzwords with the streaming platform and increases revenue in a number of areas. Worst case scenario–they’re entering a tough business in which they have limited experience. Stay tuned….
