FuboTV, the sports-centric streaming TV subscription provider, has raised $55 million in Series C funding from investors including 21st Century Fox, Scripps Networks Interactive, and the U.K.’s Sky.
The sizable round brings the New York-based startup to $75.6 million raised to date. The company will use the capital infusion to expand programming, marketing and infrastructure for its over-the-top television service that is fighting for subscribers against AT&T’s DirecTV Now, Dish Network’s Sling TV, YouTube TV, Hulu’s live TV service and Sony’s PlayStation Vue.
FuboTV’s third-round financing was led by venture-capital fund Northzone, which will take a board position at the company. Also participating in the round were 21st Century Fox and Sky, which led FuboTV’s $15 million Series B round last year, and Scripps Networks Interactive.
Launched in January 2015 as a streaming soccer service, FuboTV has expanded its OTT offering with general entertainment and news channels. The company launched the Fubo Premier entry-level bundle in April 2017 with a lineup of more than 55 channels, including 31 that feature sports content, at an introductory rate of $34.99 per month. Available only to U.S. consumers, FuboTV’s service includes regional sports networks from Fox Networks Group and NBCUniversal.
“Just like we saw as early investors in Spotify within the music business, this will be potentially an even bigger game-changer as television consumption moves online to mobile devices, computers and TV apps,” Northzone partner Pär-Jörgen Pärson, who is joining the FuboTV board, said in a statement.
Henry Ahn, president of content distribution and marketing, Scripps Networks Interactive, added: “At Scripps Networks Interactive, we believe that defining and responding to changing consumer behavior is essential to our continued success. David [Gandler, CEO of FuboTV] and his team have created an exciting and innovative global platform that helps engage a new generation of consumers.”
LionTree Advisors served as financial adviser and placement agent for FuboTV’s Series C round.
Other investors in FuboTV include DCM Ventures, i2bf, Luminari Capital, LionTree Partners, Univision Communications, Edgar Bronfman Jr., ICM Partners founding partner Chris Silbermann, and former NBA commissioner David Stern.
