fuboTV tries to pick up beIN Sports fans, offering discount after PS Vue drops channel
fuboTV is seizing upon Sony’s decision this week to drop beIN Sports from its channel lineup by offering a two-month discount to new subscribers.
fuboTV announced that the company would offer a 40 percent discount for two months of its Premier package for U.S.
The discount was in reaction of Sony’s decision to drop beIN Sports. The channel airs exclusive coverage of La Liga, Ligue 1, Serie A and the English Football League. fuboTV’s Premier package is usually priced at $34.99 per month for 64+ channels. fuboTV carries all beIN Sports and beIN Sports Connect channels.
The promotion ends on June 23.
Sony began notifying Vue customers by email this week, saying that they would stop carrying the channel as of today. Anyone with programs stored in Cloud DVR would not be able to watch their saved content from beIN Sports.
Sony had carried beIN Sports and beIN Sports en Espanol.
In a statement, Sony reps told FierceCable that, “Despite our best efforts, we were unable to come to an agreement on terms with the network.”
beIN Sports executives argue that Sony was unwilling to pay fair market value for the channels, according to WorldSoccerTalk.com.
“We’ve certainly made every attempt to renew (the agreement),” Roy Meyeringh, a vice president at beIN SPORTS told the site. “Their decision entirely is based on their desire not to pay fair-market value for beIN SPORTS. When I say fair market value, I mean the same rate that our other 30-plus partners are paying.”
According to Meyeringh, beIN SPORTS is among the fastest-growing sports networks for 2015 and 2016.
BeIN sports broadcasts soccer matches from Serie A, La Liga, Lique 1, and other leagues from across the globe. Aside from fuboTV, Sling TV is only other live streaming service that carries beIN Sports channels. fuboTV rolled out the ad blitz offering the discount late Thursday.
fuboTV expanding lookback, TV Everywhere support
While soccer fans have been bemoaning the loss of beIN sports channels on Vue, it could prove to be an opportunity that fuboTV has been waiting for. beIN Sports is only available to 20% of US Households through regular cable and satellite subscription, according to fuboTV.
Compared to much larger competitors like Sling TV, fuboTV has gotten little fanfare when it rolled portions of its streaming service out of beta.
Last month, fuboTV added TV Everywhere support to roughly 29 apps, overshadowing Sling TV’s app authentication.
The expansion for fuboTV amounted to giving customers access to about 33 channels through TVE apps, including authentication for beIN, according to a fuboTV spokesperson. Some apps like Fox Sports carries feeds from more than one channel.
fuboTV also announced this week that its new “Lookback” feature was out of beta. Lookback allows subscribers to watch games that aired within the last 72 hours. The feature is available on desktop PC and mobile devices.
fuboTV says the offer targeting disenfranchised beIN fans is only available to U.S. customers.
Founder and Editor of The Cord Cutting Report. Before launching the site in 2016, he worked for more than two decades as a staff writer or correspondent for a number of daily newspapers, including The Boston Globe. His enthusiasm for tech began with the Atari 2600. Follow @james_kimble
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