Sportsbook business to close as FuboTV expects Q3 to beat guidance
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Editor
| 19 October 2022
The bet that FuboTV made on extending its business with a gambling division has not paid off for even as the sports-first live TV streaming platform announced that both revenue and subscriber growth for North America will likely exceed previously issued guidance for its third quarter.

Following what the company calls a strategic review as part of its plan to focus on profitability goals, FuboTV will close its Fubo Gaming subsidiary and cease operations of Fubo Sportsbook effective immediately.

The gaming division was first announced after FuboTV acquired Balto Sports in December 2020 as part of a bid to drive the company’s expansion into both free to play gaming and online sports wagering which was seen as complementary to the sports-first live TV streaming platform.

Having looked for investors for the business, with multiple parties expressing interest, said fuboTV, none of the opportunities would have allowed Fubo to lower its intended funding requirements and generate sufficient returns to shareholders.

Yet despite the closure there was brighter news for the core business. In the preliminary third quarter 2022 results. Revenue and subscriber growth for North America (NA) are expected to exceed previously issued guidance with the company on track to close the third quarter of 2022 with North America revenue of at least $210 million, an increase of approximately 34% year-on-year, and Rest of World (ROW) revenue of at least $5.5 million. Prior third quarter revenue guidance for the NA streaming business was $200-205 million and $5-6 million for ROW. ROW includes the Molotov, the French live TV streaming service acquired by FuboTV in December 2021.

Paid subscribers in North America for the third quarter are expected to exceed 1.220 million, an increase of more than 27% year-over-year, with ROW paid subscribers expected to reach approximately 350,000. Prior third quarter paid subscriber guidance was 1,135,000-1,155,000 for NA and 340,000-360,000 for ROW.

Despite the gaming closure, the company sees the expected preliminary results as demonstrating a continued progression towards the company’s 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,” said FuboTV co-founder and CEO David Gandler.

“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. 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.”