FuboTV and Disney have completed the combination of Fubo with Disney’s Hulu + Live TV business, creating a new streaming pay-TV player with almost 6 million subscribers across North America.
The deal makes the merged operation the sixth largest pay-TV company in the United States and one of the biggest virtual MVPDs in the market.
Under the terms of the transaction, Disney will hold around 70% of the enlarged company, with existing Fubo shareholders retaining roughly 30%. Fubo co-founder and chief executive David Gandler will lead the new entity, which will remain publicly listed. Both the Fubo and Hulu + Live TV services will, for now, continue to be marketed separately.
Disney has also agreed to provide a $145 million (€125m) term loan to the combined business in 2026 and there is a $130 million (€112m) break fee built into the structure. The companies say the additional scale, and Disney’s balance sheet, put the platform on a clearer path to positive cash flow after years of Fubo operating at a loss.
The merger hands Disney de facto control of a sports-focused pay TV bundle that it does not have to operate entirely inside ESPN, while giving Fubo access to broader entertainment and catch-up programming from Hulu + Live TV. Hulu + Live TV has historically positioned itself as a full cable replacement with more than 90 channels, including local ABC, NBC, Fox and CBS affiliates in most markets, while Fubo built its brand around live sport, news and regional sports networks. Before the deal, Hulu + Live TV was estimated at about 4.4 million subscribers and Fubo at around 1.5 million, with YouTube TV regarded as the largest US vMVPD at well over 8 million subs.
In pay-TV terms, the enlarged Fubo/Hulu + Live TV business now sits behind YouTube TV, Comcast, Charter and DirecTV, but ahead of smaller streaming bundles such as Sling TV. Analysts say the combined scale – nearly 6 million subs on day one – should strengthen its hand in future carriage renewals with programmers, including the next round of regional sports and local broadcast deals.
