The sports-focused streaming virtual multichannel video provider(vMVPD) FuboTV is rebranding itself.
The company will now be called Fubo (no more “TV”), and is launching a new marketing and branding effort to help it grow market share in an increasingly competitive environment.
The company will launch the new campaign, with the tagline “If Sports Fans Built a Streaming Service,” this week, with the new corporate brand replacing its existing assets over the coming months. NBA star Kevin Garnett and NFL veteran Mark Sanchez have been tapped to lead the campaign.
“FuboTV has grown in size and scope, with multiple brands under our global umbrella, since we launched our core cable TV replacement product in 2015,” said David Gandler, co-founder and CEO of Fubo, in a statement. “Alongside our continued growth, our consumers have affectionately shortened our name to Fubo and we feel that name represents the premium media brand we are today. We’re building on this momentum with an updated visual identity and new ad campaign, created in partnership with Ryan Reynolds’ Maximum Effort, to continue to drive profitable growth as we head into baseball season.”
The new campaign is being produced by Maximum Effort, the production and marketing company founded by actor and producer Ryan Reynolds.
Maximum Effort last year inked a first-look unscripted development deal with Fubo that will see the company producing content and launching a “Maximum Effort Network” for the streaming service. Maximum Effort also received equity in the company as part of the deal. According to a Fubo securities filing, Maximum Effort received 2 million shares of Fubo stock in connection to the deal, and will receive $10 million worth of shares at each of the first and second anniversaries of the deal.
“The reason Maximum Effort believes in Fubo is it’s the one product that captures the best of cable and the best of streaming, while having the very meaningful differentiator of live sports,” added Reynolds. “While cable fights cord-cutters and streaming services fight the cash content war, Fubo is building an experience and suite of services that can win.”
Fubo added 323,000 net subscribers in 2022, more than any traditional cable provider. It now has a total of 1.44 million subs. However, it is also operating in a competitive marketplace, with Hulu with Live TV and YouTube TV battling for streaming multichannel subs. Hulu with Live TV has 4.5 million subscribers, while YouTube TV has more than 5 million.
Reynolds, meanwhile, has proven himself adept at helping to brand companies in a variety of industries. His Aviation Gin brand sold to Diageo for more than $600 million in 2020, and last week Mint Mobile, the wireless company for which he was a minority owner, sold to T-Mobile for more than $1.4 billion.
