Fubo is being dropped from Univision channels, blamed on the distribution deal

Fubo is being dropped from Univision channels, blamed on the distribution deal

The Fubo app on a Comcast Xumo Stream Box. (Photo courtesy)
The Fubo app on a Comcast Xumo Stream Box. (Photo courtesy)

Dozens of Spanish-language broadcast channels and cable networks owned by Televisa-Univision disappeared from Fubo on Monday after a contract to carry those channels expired without a new contract taking effect.

In a statement, a Fubo spokesperson exaggerated the situation by claiming that “thousands of Spanish-speaking consumers across the United States have lost access to local news and weather… because Televisa-Univision pulled their programming from Fubo.”

Fubo has never disclosed the number of customers paying for its Spanish-language programming package compared to its two English-language plans offered in North America. Therefore, it is not clear how many Fubo subscribers do not have access to Univision-owned channels due to the respective situation and do not use the service. That is, most Fubo subscribers can continue to receive their local Univision station or partner via free of charge They use a traditional television antenna, which gives them the same access to local news and weather they had on Fubo before the dispute began.

As in situations like this, at issue is the amount of money Fubo must pay to Televisa-Univision in exchange for the right to distribute its broadcast and cable channels. While broadcast channels can be received free of charge via an antenna, Fubo also broadcast the national sports channel TUDN (Tu Deportes Network), which offers live football matches from around the world and other sports programming.

Fubo accused Televisa-Univision of not only charging more money for its channels – reportedly a 25 percent increase over the previous rate – but also skimming programming for its own streaming service called Vix. Fubo claimed that Televisa-Univision still requires its subscribers to pay for Vix separately – however, Televisa-Univision has arranged distribution arrangements with other pay-TV platforms that provide subscribers with free access to the ad-supported version as part of their pay-TV service from Vix.

It wasn’t clear from Fubo’s announcement whether the company was trying to strike a similar deal for its service. Fubo recently launched a streaming subscription marketplace that offers its streamers third-party services like Paramount Plus without a subscription to its basic TV package – but Fubo doesn’t have free access to network-owned streaming services like Paramount Plus offered as part of a traditional pay TV subscription, as DirecTV and Charter’s Spectrum TV have done in the past two years.

Instead of trying to explain his situation, Fubo instead chose to portray Televisa-Univision as the villain in the ongoing dispute, writing that the broadcaster’s recent deal was unacceptable to its customers and investors.

“Fubo remains open to negotiating a new content agreement with Televisa-Univision, but this must be fair and equitable to our subscribers,” a Fubo spokesperson said. “This includes access to Spanish-language content in our Latino plan at a competitive cost.”

A spokesman for Televisa-Univision said the company “worked in good faith to reach an agreement with Fubo to avoid this outcome, but they refuse to pay the market value that other distributors have agreed to.”

“Fortunately, our channels are broadly distributed across many platforms, so our audience has many opportunities to continue to enjoy our programming while we work on a solution,” the spokesperson said. (A source familiar with the matter said it was Fubo’s decision to de-platform Televisa-Univision’s channels while the broadcaster worked on a new agreement.)

Fubo noted that its Spanish-language package continues to offer channels from BeIN Sports, Sony Television, the Walt Disney Company and Paramount Global. But the loss of the Televisa-Univision channels is particularly problematic for the company because Univision’s flagship channel is the most-watched among Spanish-speaking households in the United States.

Editor’s note: This story was updated late Monday evening to include comment from a Televisa-Univision spokesperson and additional information on negotiations between the two companies.




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