Cutting the cord doesn't mean you can't watch live sports or prime-time shows; a video streaming service can replicate—and often improve on—the cable TV experience.
FuboTV offers tons of sports, news, and entertainment channels, easy-to-use DVR capabilities, and reliable performance.
Its main strength is that it covers most major sports and leagues at the local, national, and international levels.
FuboTV's biggest downsides are that it only offers 720p streams for most live content and lacks FOX regional sports networks and Turner channels.
Still, for cord cutters looking to stream the widest variety of sports, fuboTV is a top option.
Sports Channels Galore
One of the top reasons to consider fuboTV is its sports streaming lineup.
The Standard plan offers national and local sports programming from broadcast affiliates, such as ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC; sports channels such as BTN, CBS Sports Network, FS1, FS2, fubo Sports Network, NBA TV, NBC Sports Network, NFL Network, and The Golf Channel; and international sports channels such as beIN Sports, GOL TV, and TUDN.
A recent deal with Disney adds some key sports channels to the lineup, including ESPN, ESPN2, SEC Network, and ACC Network.
More expensive plans include ESPNews and ESPN U, too.
FuboTV's lack of ESPN channels was previously a glaring issue, but now you can watch all of that channel's live sports, including Monday Night Football, and flagship sports shows on the service.
If your fuboTV plan includes ESPN, you can use your fuboTV login to access ESPN3.
ESPN's streaming service, ESPN+, notably does not include the network's best programming.
Depending on your location, you may have access to some regional sports networks (RSNs).
RSNs are channels that serve specific geographic regions with sports content from the area.
For example, in New York City, MSG, SNY, and YES are RSNs.
FOX's RSNs are not available on fuboTV.
This is problematic for sports fans, since these channels are the only way to stream many MLB, NBA, and NHL teams.
Check FOX's regional sports page to see if your team is affected.
FuboTV does have all the NBC RSNs and at least one AT&T Sportsnet channel (Sportsnet Southwest), however.
FuboTV is still subject to the same blackouts and restrictions as cable and other live TV streaming services; individual sports leagues determine what teams are shown in each local market.
For the consumer, that means you won't be able to watch games that are restricted to local networks outside of your own.
National sports broadcasts are always available to watch regardless of your location though, and RSNs in your home network can be streamed even if you travel to a new location.
Read fuboTV's guide on local coverage for the full details on what situations may cause blackouts.
Hulu + Live TV includes six different ESPN Channels (ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPNews, ESPNU, ESPN College Extra, and ESPN Bases Loaded) in its base plan—not surprising, given Disney's effective joint control of the two companies.
It also offers the best selection of RSNs (both FOX- and NBC-owned) out of any service I've reviewed.
However, Hulu is missing fuboTV's NFL Network and all of the international sports national channels.
YouTube TV's standard offering includes MLB Network, which fuboTV makes you pay extra for, but it lacks the service's international sports channels.
YouTube TV also offers most RSNs.
AT&T TV Now restricts CBS Sports Network, Fox Sports 2, MLB Network, NBA TV, and RSNs to higher price tiers.
That service's more expensive plans also include most of the popular RSNs.
Sling TV's Orange and Blue plans split ESPN and popular national sports channels.
Even with Sling's combined plan, you need to pay for the Sports Extras add-on to achieve parity with the other options.
For a full rundown of what sports channels you need, check out our guide on how to watch every sport without cable.
News and Lifestyle Channels
FuboTV's includes all the affiliate broadcast networks you would expect including ABC (thanks to the recent deal with Disney), CBS, FOX, and NBC, but it lacks PBS.
Both YouTube TV and Locast offer PBS channels.
It also has few CW affiliates.
Check out fuboTV's guide to local channel coverage to see if your locals are available.
The service's news lineup is also solid, with channels such as ABC News Live, BBC America, CBSN, FOX News, MSNBC, and NBC.
You get financial news from CNBC, Cheddar Business, and FOX Business.
FuboTV bundles an impressive collection of entertainment and lifestyle programming with options from Viacom and Discovery.
For example, fuboTV offers AMC, Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, Food Network, FX, HGTV, SYFY, Travel Channel, USA, and The Weather Channel.
Available children's programming includes Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD, Freeform, National Geographic, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., and Universal Kids.
You won't find any Turner-owned channels, such as Boomerang, Cartoon Network, CNN, TBS, TCM, or TNT on the service anymore.
If those cartoon channels are what you miss the most from that lineup, check out VRV or HBO Max.
How Much Does fuboTV Cost?
FuboTV's prices have increased since the time of our last review and the Ultra plan is no longer available.
The base subscription plan, called fubo Standard, now costs $59.99 per month.
Fubo Standard includes approximately 110 total channels depending on your location (116 based on my New York City test location).
You might have trouble finding the listing for this plan; it is hidden at the bottom of the page under the Add Ons & More tab when you visit fuboTV's plan description page.
The Family plan is $64.99 per month and offers the same channels as the Standard plan.
It adds the Cloud DVR 250 (increases DVR storage from 30 hours to 250) and Family Share (increases simultaneous streams from two to three) extras.
On their own, those add-ons cost $9.99 and $5.99 per month, respectively.
Fubo's Elite plan is $79.99 per month and expands on the Family plan by adding the fubo Extra add-on.
The fubo Extra package, which, by itself, costs $5.99 per month, includes channels such as BBC World News, Cooking Channel, DIY Network, FXM, TeenNick, and SCI.
The Elite plan includes about 160 channels in total.
You also get the Cloud DVR 1000 (expands DVR storage to 1,000 hours) and Family Share Max (supports five simultaneous streams at home and two away from it) add-ons.
Individually, those add-ons cost $16.99 and $9.99 per month, respectively.
The fubo Español plan ($29.99 per month) includes around 30 channels, such as beIN Sports, Discovery en Espanol, ESPN Deportes, Familia, Fox Deportes, Univision, GOL TV Spanish, Nat Geo Mundo, and TUDN.
it also bundles the Cloud DVR 250 add-on.
You can supplement fubo Standard and other plans with other add-ons, such as fubo Cycling ($11.99 per month), Adventure Plus ($4.99 per month), and Latino Plus ($19.99 per month), too.
Portuguese Plus costs $14.99 per month, but only includes three channels: GOL TV Spanish, Benfica TV, and RTP Internacional.
Other international add-ons include International Sports Plus ($6.99 per month) and RAI Plus ($7.99 per month).
Showtime ($10.99 per month) and AMC Premiere ($4.99 per month) add-ons are also available.
The Sports Plus add-on with NFL Redzone is likely most relevant to sports fans.
It costs $10.99 per month and includes ESPNews, ESPN U, NFL RedZone, NBA TV, NHL Network, MLB TV, Stadium, and the Tennis Channel.
This was previously included with the now-defunct Ultra plan.
For comparison, YouTube TV costs $64.99 per month and features more than 90 channels, depending on your location.
Hulu + Live TV comes in below fuboTV's monthly price at $54.99 and also includes around 70 channels.
Sling TV's comparable plan is $45 per month, but it's limited to a more modest lineup of around 50 channels.
If you want to watch live TV, but don't want to spend a ton of money, you have other options, albeit with some compromises.
For example, ESPN+ costs only $4.99 per month and offers a good selection of live sports, but it doesn't include some core ESPN programming or Monday Night Football.
Dazn is pricier at $19.99 per month, and its live coverage is mostly limited to live MMA, boxing, and soccer.
Philo does not offer local channels or sports programming, but its trove of entertainment channels can be yours for only $20 a month.
Locast provides access to all your local channels (including many national and local sports broadcasts) for only $5 per month.
FuboTV is available via the web; for Android and iOS; and the Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, and Roku media streaming devices.
Game consoles, such as the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, are not natively supported.
You can try the service with a free seven-day trial on any platform, but this option requires a credit card.
I tested fuboTV on a Windows 10 PC and a Google Pixel 3 running Android 11.
FuboTV is available primarily in the US, but it does have specific, limited plans for customers in Canada and Spain.
You can view the list of available channels for both those plans via fuboTV's help center.
Web Interface
FuboTV's web interface is clean, compact, and snappy.
It uses a mix of black, gray, and white with occasional orange accents for emphasis.
The top menu is organized into six sections: Home, Sports, Shows, Movies, Guide, and Recordings.
In the upper right-hand corner, you can change account settings (such as billing details and the add-ons you subscribe to), manage the account profiles, and access the help center.
There are no settings here related to video playback.
The Home section displays several horizontally scrolling lists of streaming content.
Categories include Live TV, Live Sports, Top Leagues and Tournaments, News Live & Up Next, and Featured.
The Sports tab shows a couple of featured events in a top-level slider, along with the option to record them to DVR storage.
All the different sports categories appear across the top, which you can filter further based on their associated leagues.
Below that, fuboTV displays a complete list of sports events for the day.
From here, you can launch a live event or hit the DVR button to schedule a recording.
Alternatively, you can navigate up to 72 hours backward in time from the day to view Lookback content (more on that later) or forward up to 10 days to schedule a future recording.
FuboTV divides entertainment content into two top-level categories: Shows and Movies.
You can browse content based on what is popular, currently broadcasting, or by genre.
The availability of shows and movies depends on what's streaming on the channels included in your plan, though there is some perpetually available on-demand content, too.
The guide section is a two-column affair, with channels listed down the left side and the programming details on the right.
You can use this tool to see what's scheduled for up to six days in the future.
Strangely, you can't navigate backward from the current day to view Lookback content from the Guide section; you can only do this from the Sports section.
From this screen, you can either click on one of the thumbnails to launch into a live stream or hit the Record button to add it to your DVR library.
FuboTV also includes a header here, called Networks, which allows you to select and view content from specific channels.
For example, if you click on CBS, the interface shows a brief summary of the network, a list of live and upcoming content, and any on-demand series it offers.
The Recordings section features large thumbnails and organizes content into a simple list structure.
You can use a search bar to search by title, team, league, or channel, but I wish I could search by date, as well.
FuboTV has since added different sections for your Sports, Shows, and Movie recordings, which is very helpful.
fuboTV's Mobile Experience
Downloading and signing in to the mobile app is a pain-free experience, though you do have to give it permission to access your location (not uncommon for this sort of service).
The sleek-looking app boasts a dark theme with white and orange highlights.
I did experience a consistent bug with the Android app; whenever I completely relaunched the app, it only displayed the Home button on the bottom and all the other sections were inaccessible.
A representative explained that this is likely because I have a VPN installed on my phone.
I had to disable my VPN and relaunch the app several times before this issue resolved.
From the hidden left-hand menu, you can switch between profiles and view some account details.
However, there's no way to manage your subscriptions or add-ons from the mobile app, let alone control preferences for closed captions or video streaming quality.
The main app view shows horizontally scrolling lists of various content categories.
One includes all the available channels to watch, another lists live and upcoming sports, and others highlight top shows and on-demand content (such as Worth Binging, 4K On Demand, and Popular on Showtime).
On the bottom, you can tap to switch between the Home, Sports, Entertainment, Guide, and Recordings.
The Recordings Section shows your recorded content, scheduled recordings, and the Continue Watching section, which shows live and on-demand programming that you've recently watched.
This last section did not work reliably in testing; fuboTV correctly added an on-demand movie to this area, but did not do the same with any of the live sports programming I launched.
The Guide closely mirrors the design and functions of the one on the web and is well-designed for the mobile platform.
Streaming Experience
FuboTV's playback interface on the web looks great.
Apart from the standard playback controls, you get 15-second rewind and fast-forward options; buttons for starting playback from the start (only available on select programming) and for resuming live playback; a button for starting a DVR recording; a closed caption toggle; and the ability to select the playback resolution.
You can also add a channel to your favorites list, as well as switch to a mini-player.
The mobile playback screen includes many of the same features, except for the favorite button and the mini-player option or a Picture-in-Picture (PiP) mode.
FuboTV's live channels streams are mostly limited to 720p resolution, which is disappointing, but the picture quality is smooth in testing.
A representative confirmed that the service supports 720p/60fps streams.
YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV offers channels in 1080p...
