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Is Fubo TV worth it? What to know about the live TV streaming service
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Thinking of cutting cable? You may have heard of an alternative called Fubo, which offers much of the same content offered by cable. Subscribers get access to a live feed of 186 channels — including local affiliates where available — to deliver a cable-like TV viewing experience without the hefty subscription price.
Yes, some streamers, like Paramount+ to Hulu, air some network content, but they won’t completely replace a cable subscription if you’re interested in catching local programming. That’s particularly important to sports fans wanting to catch games live.
One of just a few platforms offering a free, seven-day trial, Fubo lets you test drive the platform without paying for it. After seven days, pricing starts at $80 per month. Considering the average cable subscription costs about $217 per month, services like Fubo make watching your favorite sports and content far more affordable.
But how does it compare with cheaper options like Sling TV? Keep reading to find out what’s included in a Fubo subscription, and whether the experts at CBS New Essentials think Fubo is worth the monthly pricing.
Note: CBS News and Paramount+ are both subsidiaries of Paramount.
What’s included in a monthly Fubo TV subscription?
Fubo gives subscribers access to the live feed of a minimum of 186 channels with its Pro Tier ($80 a month after seven-day free trial), with the ability to watch on up to 10 screens at the same time. Fubo’s Pro, Elite and Premier tiers come with 1,000 hours of cloud DVR storage. A standout feature of Fubo is its lookback feature, which allows subscribers to watch content up to 72 hours after it airs live.
You can start watching live TV on Fubo, including network-aired NFL, NBA and MLB games, by starting a seven-day free trial of Fubo. Begin watching immediately on your TV, phone, tablet or computer.
What you’ll get with Fubo Pro Tier:
- There are no contracts with Fubo — you can cancel at any time.
- The Pro tier includes 186 channels, including NFL Network. (You’ll need to upgrade to the Ultimate tier for NFL RedZone.)
- Fubo includes all the channels you’ll need to watch college and pro football, including CBS.
- In addition to NFL football, Fubo offers MLB, NBA, NHL, MLS and international soccer games.
- All Fubo tiers come with 1,000 hours of cloud-based DVR recording.
- Stream on your TV, phone and mobile devices.
Fubo TV vs. Sling TV vs. Hulu + Live TV: What’s best?
If you’ve considered a subscription to Fubo TV, you’ve likely also researched a subscription to Sling TV and Hulu + Live TV, other leading live TV streaming platforms. While Fubo’s Pro Tier starts at $80 per month after the seven-day free trial, a subscription to Sling TV starts at $60 per month and Hulu + Live TV costs $77 per month. Sling TV is currently running a promotion giving subscribers 50% off the first month of service, making the first month $30.
There are two main differences between Fubo TV, Hulu + Live TV and Sling TV. First, Sling TV and Hulu + Live TV do not offer a free trial, which means you’ll have to pay $30 for your first month of Sling TV to see if it’s for you. Likewise, Hulu + Live TV doesn’t offer a free trial, which means you’ll shell out $77 just to try the platform.
Second, and most notable for sports fans, Sling TV does not give subscribers access to CBS-aired content. That means NFL fans subscribing to Sling TV won’t be able to watch visiting AFC games next season, nor will college football fans be able to catch CBS-aired SEC football games next fall. Sling TV subscribers would also need a Paramount+ with Showtime subscription ($11.99 per month) to watch CBS-aired content.
Number of channels offered:
- Fubo Pro Tier: 186 channels
- Sling TV Orange + Blue Tier bundle: 68 channels
- Hulu + Live TV: 95 channels
Pricing:
- Fubo Pro Tier: $80 after seven-day free trial
- Sling TV Orange + Blue Tier bundle: $30 for first month, $60 per month after first month
- Hulu + Live TV: $77 per month
Special features:
- Fubo Pro Tier: Seven-day free trial
- Sling TV Orange + Blue Tier bundle: Cost-effective, but does not include CBS-aired content
- Hulu + Live TV: Pricing includes Hulu, ESPN+ and Disney +.
Is Fubo worth it?
In a word, yes. We’re big fans of saving money and cutting the cord with our cable company, but we still want access to our favorite network TV shows, as well as our favorite sports. A subscription to Fubo grants access to most network-aired programs and sports at a much cheaper price. With a minimum of 186 channels offered, Fubo delivers a lot of bang for your (80) bucks. The seven-day free trial is a big incentive to subscribe and the ability to cancel anytime make a Fubo subscription totally worth it.
But, if you also have subscriptions to Disney +, Hulu and/or ESPN+, you’ll save money by subscribing to Hulu + Live TV and dropping your individual subscriptions to Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+, though you’ll get access to 95 channels with Hulu + Live TV as opposed to 186 channels with Fubo.
Which live TV streaming platform is best?
If you’re a diehard football fan, you’re going to want to watch those CBS games. We suggest a subscription to Fubo or Hulu + Live TV if your budget allows. If you’re looking for the least expensive way to watch live TV without a cable subscription, Sling TV is an inexpensive option. If you love to consume content on all the streaming platforms, including sports, movies and TV, Hulu + Live TV gives you access to Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+, which means you won’t need to pay for a separate subscription to those apps.
Which live TV streaming platform is best:
- For those on a budget: Sling TV
- For the most channels: Fubo
- For multiple streaming apps in one subscription: Hulu + Live TV
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French election first-round results show gains for far-right, drawing warnings ahead of decisive second-round
Paris — A far-right, anti-immigration party is in reach of becoming the biggest political force in France after the first of two rounds of voting in parliamentary elections drew a historically high turnout. The first-round results in the French election are the latest evidence of surging support for the far-right in Europe, but the real test of that trend nationally will come when France opens the polls for the second, decisive round of voting in one week.
French President Emmanuel Macron took a huge gamble by calling the snap election this year, and he’s now issued a battle cry urging the nation’s voters to come out in force on July 7 to stop the far-right, which made its best showing ever in round one, from rising to the very top of government in round two.
Turnout was unusually high as many voters said they either wanted to block the far-right, or just get rid of Macron’s government.
JEREMY AUDOUARD/AFP/Getty
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen said her National Rally party had “virtually wiped out” Macron’s centrist power base in the first-round Sunday vote. National Rally took a third of the votes in that round.
Macron called these elections hoping to rally voters against the far-right, after parties like Le Pen’s fared well in Europe-wide elections for the European parliament, which governs the European Union, in the spring.
“President Macron made a colossal error in judgment,” political analyst Douglas Webber told CBS News. Webber said the first round results show Macron could be forced to share power with National Rally — a party that is anti-immigration, wants to roll back the power of the European Union, and has even threatened to pull France out of the U.S.-led NATO military alliance.
If the National Rally wins enough votes in the second round, party president Jordan Bardella could find himself in the country’s second-top job, as prime minister. He wants to pull back on France’s support for Ukraine in the face of Russia’s ongoing invasion.
“That would be a very good result for Vladimir Putin, a very bad result for Ukraine and President Zelenskyy,” said Webber.
That outcome is not a foregone conclusion. The French have a history of voting more ideologically in the first round — “with their hearts,” as the saying goes — but then more tactically, “with their heads,” in the second round.
Luc Auffret/Anadolu/Getty
Macron and the thousands of left-wing supporters who gathered in central Paris on Sunday to voice their concern at the far-right’s performance will be hoping that’s the case, and that the actual gains in parliamentary seats won’t mirror the windfall seen for Le Pen and Bardella’s party in round-one.
“Right now, we have big problems with the right wing,” said one young woman before the results came in. “We want more democracy, you know, we don’t want people to feel afraid or scared about living in France.”
But the political winds across much of the continent have been blowing decidedly to the right for more than a year. Should the far-right parties win big in France on July 7, Webber warned it could leave a power “vacuum at the heart of Europe,” which has been dominated for years by the influence of its two biggest economies, France and Germany.
“No one, or no other group of countries, could conceivably fill the role that’s historically been played by France and Germany,” he said. “That’s, of course, the main reason why so many people, observers, are extremely worried.”
Among the worried Europeans voicing their angst on Monday was Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who said the first-round results in France indicated a “very dangerous” political turn.
“This is all really starting to smell very dangerous,” said Tusk, who suggested without offering specific evidence that “Russian influence” was behind the rise of “many parties of the radical right in Europe.”
“Even the complete victory of the radical right of Ms. Le Pen’s camp does not signal the loss of power by the center represented by President Macron,” Tusk told reporters. “But it is a very clear sign of what is happening not only in France, but also in some other countries, also in Western Europe.”
Tusk said France “will be forced to confront these radical forces,” and he warned that, “foreign forces and enemies of Europe are engaged in this process, hiding behind these movements.”
Macron has called on voters from across the political spectrum to block the far-right’s precipitous rise with their votes in the final round on Sunday.
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French election first-round results show gains for far-right, drawing warnings ahead of decisive second-round
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