Fubo accused NBCUniversal of engaging in “discriminatory tactics” as the two companies remain locked in a carriage dispute.
“They allowed YouTube TV and Amazon Prime video to integrate Peacock directly into their channel store, but refused to give Fubo the same rights,” the company said in a statement. “Fubo’s goal is to make Peacock available directly in our channel store so subscribers can access all of their content in one place and seamlessly pay on one bill.”
Fubo also accused NBCUniversal of blocking its skinny bundle offering by asking the company to add “expensive, non-sports channels.” The company added it was asked to sign a multi-year deal to distribute its cable networks that will be spun off into Versant starting next year.
“Despite them not being worth the cost to Fubo subscribers, Fubo offered to distribute Versant channels for one year,” the statement continued. “NBCU wants Fubo subscribers to subsidize these channels.”
NBCUniversal’s programming has been dark on the platform since Friday after both sides failed to reach a new deal by a 5 p.m. ET deadline. In addition to not allowing Peacock to be ingested into the Fubo Channel Store, a spokesperson claimed NBCU “offered terms regarding pricing and packaging that we believe are egregiously above those offered to other distributors our size.”
“Fubo is committed to bringing its subscribers a premium, competitively-priced live TV streaming experience with the content they love. That includes multiple content options, including a sports-focused service, that can be accessed directly from the Fubo app,” the company’s Tuesday statement concluded. “We hope NBCU reconsiders their stance, or we’ll be forced to move forward without them.”
NBCUniversal previously said it offered Fubo “fair rates and terms” for its portfolio of entertainment and sports content that have been accepted by “hundreds of other distributors,” including Hulu + Live TV.
“Fubo has chosen to drop NBCUniversal programming despite being offered the same terms agreed to by hundreds of other distributors,” a spokesperson for the media giant told TheWrap at the time. “Unfortunately, this is par for the course for Fubo — they’ve dropped numerous networks in recent years at the expense of their customers, who continue to lose content.”
An NBCU spokesperson deferred TheWrap to its previous statement.
The full list of channels impacted by the blackout include:
- NBC local affiliates
- Telemundo Local/National
- NBC Sports 4K
- NBC Sports Bay Area
- NBC Sports Bay Area Plus
- NBC Sports Boston
- NBC Sports California
- NBC Sports California Plus
- NBC Sports California Plus 3
- NBC Sports Philadelphia
- NBC Sports Philadelphia Plus
- American Crimes
- Bravo
- Bravo Vault
- Caso Cerrado
- CNBC
- CNBC World
- Cozi
- Dateline 24/7
- E! Entertainment Television
- E! Keeping Up
- Golf Channel
- GolfPass
- LX Home
- Million Dollar Listing Vault
- MSNBC
- NBC NOW
- NBC Sports NOW
- NBC Universo
- True CRMZ
- New England Cable News
- Noticias Telemundo Ahora
- Oxygen True Crime
- Oxygen True Crime Archives
- Real Housewives Vault
- SNL Vault
- Telemundo Accion
- Telemundo al Dia
- The Golf Channel
- Today All Day
- Universal Movies
- USA Network
Fubo, which has a total of 1.63 million subscribers in North America, has said it will provide a $15 credit on their next billing cycle in the event NBCU’s content remains off the service for an “extended period of time.” It also said that any cloud DVR recordings of NBCU programming will remain on subscribers’ accounts until they expire or are deleted.
In addition to operating as a standalone platform, the service recently merged with Hulu + Live TV to create a combined entity with nearly 6 million North American subscribers. Disney owns a 70% interest in the combined company, while Fubo shareholders retain the remaining 30%.
The dispute with Fubo comes on the heels of NBCUniversal striking a new carriage deal with Google in October in order to avoid a blackout on YouTube TV. Previous programming blackouts for Fubo in recent years include TelevisaUnivision, Discovery and SportsNet New York in 2024; Sinclair, Nexstar, Gray, Scripps, Hearst and Cox Media owned-CBS affiliates and AMC Networks in 2023; and A&E Networks in 2021.
