Fubo TV just took away monthly billing for new members right before the Super Bowl
Signing up to Fubo TV to watch the Super Bowl online? Well, looks like you have extra complexities to think about. Tom’s Guide has always ranked FuboTV as one of the best cable TV alternatives, but this news doesn’t help their case.
The big annoyance that new potential Fubo members will see today finds that month-to-month billing is no longer offered when signing up. Now, new Fubo members will pay in three-month amounts, per quarter of the calendar year.
Normally, Fubo would let you pay on a monthly basis, like most of the best streaming services do. This could change, as a Fubo representative tells Tom’s Guide that “We have temporarily made our channel packages available to new subscribers as quarterly plans. We’re always experimenting with our channel package offerings to better understand what our subscribers like.”
We doubt any subscriber will like quarterly billing, though.
Next, let’s talk fees. You may remember the news that Fubo TV was getting regional sports networks (RSNs). 19 Bally Sports RSNs were coming to Fubo, with members in every tier getting whichever channels were in their area. No pricing changes were announced.
Then (according to Cord Cutters News (opens in new tab)), Fubo emailed subscribers to let them know that a regional sports fee was coming. According to Fubo’s support center (opens in new tab), these fees start at $11 per month if you have one RSN in your area (based on ZIP code), and those with more RSNs will be charged $14 per month.
These fees are not advertised in Fubo’s home page, and arrive in a bit of a sticker-shock moment while signing up, as you can see here:
Fubo’s support page says these changes are required to “continue bringing you the best in sports programming,” and that there is no way to opt-out.
Of course, you don’t need any RSNs to watch the Super Bowl online, but you’ll be charged for them anyway.
Analysis: Cord-cutting keeps getting more expensive
I don’t want to go back to cable, but fubo subscribers may be shaking their heads at all of these practices. Moving away from monthly billing and adding fees at the last stage of signup are the kinds of things that cable companies were known for.
And it all makes competitors YouTube TV ($65 per month), Sling TV ($40 per month) and Hulu + Live TV ($69 per month) look better by comparison.
Sling, though, is adding $5 per month to Sling Blue packages in select regions, as Sling adds the ABC network.
Fubo’s own home page says “No hidden fees. Cancel anytime,” But these two changes may have some crying foul.
For all the latest Technology News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.