Hulu + Live TV and Fubo are merging, with a subscriber count that rivals YouTube TV

Ben Schoon | Jan 6 2025 - 1:15 pm PT

Following a lawsuit filed by Fubo over Disney’s practices with Hulu + Live TV, the two services are merging into a single business, and one that may end up rivaling YouTube TV in a meaningful way.

Announced today, Disney has entered into an agreement with Fubo that will see Hulu + Live TV and Fubo merging into a single virtual MVPD company. Disney will own 70% of Fubo while Fubo’s existing management team will lead the company.

Combined, Fubo and Hulu + Live TV have 6.2 million subscribers, approaching the 8 million that YouTube TV had racked up as of early 2024.

The agreement will see both Fubo and Hulu + Live TV continuing to operate as standalone subscriptions, though with Disney’s efforts to fold Hulu into Disney+, the writing seems on the wall that the two will fully merge eventually.

Fubo and Hulu + Live TV will continue to be available to consumers as separate offerings post-closing. Hulu + Live TV, a leader in entertainment programming, will continue to be streamed in the Hulu app and be offered as part of the attractive bundle with Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN+. Fubo, which streams more than 55,000 live sporting events annually, will continue to serve its subscribers in the Fubo app.

Notably, this will also bring ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, ESPNEWS, as well as ESPN+ back to Fubo, which will also be introducing a new “Sports & Broadcast” service.