With cable bills often exceeding $100 per month, many are ditching large cable providers in favor of streaming services, which often cost far less. For sports fans, however, this presents an issue. While Netflix or Hulu might be a great way to binge-watch a scripted series, subscription services like these rarely have live sports. Enter FuboTV.
Offering over 200 live channels––including FOX Sports, CBS Sports, NBC Sports, and ESPN–FuboTV is a great cable alternative for seniors. Most of their plans also cost under $100 per month.
FYI: FuboTV is great for live sports, but in many cases, a cable plan is cheaper. To compare FuboTV to other providers, read our rundown of the best cable packages for seniors.
What Is FuboTV?
FuboTV is a live TV streaming service that falls somewhere between cable and streaming. Like cable services, FuboTV provides subscribers with numerous channels that they can watch live, including sports and local channels. Like a streaming service, FuboTV only requires a WiFi connection to activate, and it also has an extensive library of on-demand programs that can be watched at any time.
In our experience, the two main benefits of FuboTV are its price and live sports. In recent years, cable and satellite bills have ballooned. According to AllConnect, the average American cable bill is $217.42 per month. Compare this to FuboTV, whose plans max out at under $100.
We also can’t understate the value of live sports. Many people choose to hold onto their cable service due to the availability of live sports, which you won’t often find on streaming services. FuboTV, however, offers all the sports channels a person could want.
What Equipment Do You Need?
So long as you have an internet plan with at least 5 Mbps of connection speed, you can stream content from FuboTV. If you don’t know the speed of your connection, you can consult your internet plan provider or use a simple connection test on your computer. Remember that a faster connection means higher-quality video, so if you want HD content, you should aim for 15 Mbps or higher.
If you have a suitable connection, you can watch FuboTV without hooking up any cables or getting a cable box. It works through an app like other modern streaming services and can be accessed through many devices, including:
- Your smart TV, smartphone, computer, or tablet
- Roku
- Apple TV
- Amazon Fire TV
- Chromecast
Pro Tip: To find affordable internet with fast speeds, be sure to check out our guide to the best internet providers for seniors.
FuboTV Features
FuboTV allows up to 10 devices to have their own profiles and watch on any of the above devices. Plans also come with DVR space, so you can record and access your favorite programs from any of those devices.
Instead of being locked to one device, you can now record a program like a movie or a big game, and watch it anywhere you have an internet connection. The ability to live stream content, record programs, share between multiple profiles and upgrade with custom premium channels if desired makes FuboTV a flexible cable alternative for many seniors.
Live TV streaming
Live TV streaming on FuboTV gives you access to tons of channels such as ABC, ESPN, FOX, NBC, CBS, HGTV, SHOWTIME, USA, Food Network, Discovery, MSNBC, E!, SYFY, MTV, and more. Note that different package bundles come with different channels, so you need to check to make sure that you’re paying for the channels you want.
Live streaming sports games from major leagues like the NFL, MLB, NGA, NHL, NASCAR, MMA, MLS, Premier League soccer, and more is a major advantage of getting FuboTV, since most streaming services don’t offer live sports coverage.
Note that while FuboTV can stream HD video, with some plans supporting 4K, the picture quality you receive depends on the strength of your internet connection. Check with your provider to get an estimate of your streaming speeds and how that will affect your content.
On-demand content
FuboTV also offers on-demand content, which means you can watch shows whenever you want, just like Netflix. Popular on-demand shows on FuboTV include The Bachelor, SNL, The Simpsons, This is Us, House Hunters, Chopped, American Horror Story, Shark Tank, and more.
Cloud DVR
The FuboTV Pro plan comes with 1000 hours of DVR space, which you can use to record and save shows and movies to watch later. Your content is saved on a Cloud server, which means that you don’t need to worry about space.
During these recordings, you can fast-forward through commercials and watch your programs on any device connected to the internet. FuboTV also offers upgrades to DVR space for $9.99 to $16.99 per month, depending on how much more you need.
Multiple streams
FuboTV offers simultaneous streaming on multiple devices, meaning that depending on the plan you buy, you and your family members can watch content on different devices at the same time. Standard Share comes with two devices, Family Share (+$5.99/month) has three, and Unlimited Screens (+$9.99/month) comes with 10.
Note that you can stream from multiple mobile devices but only one TV device. You cannot stream from multiple TVs from two different locations.
Family sharing
The family sharing feature allows you to create six separate profiles on your FuboTV account. This helps you and your loved ones find your personal content, including your individual favorite channels, recordings, and bookmarked shows.
Premium Channels
While basic FuboTV subscriptions come with over 100 channels, you can add premium channels for extra monthly fees. These include:
- Showtime ($10.99/month)
- STARZ ($9.99/month)
- MGM+ ($5.99/month)
- MLB.TV ($24.99/month)
- Sports Plus with NFL RedZone ($10.99/month)
- International Sports Plus ($6.99/month)
- NBA League Pass ($14.99/month)
- Adventure Plus ($4.99/month)
- Sports Lite ($9.99/month)
- FOX Nation ($5.99/month)
- Fubo Extra ($7.99/month)
- News Plus ($2.99/month)
- RAI Italia ($8.99/month)
- Latino Plus ($19.99/month)
- TV5MONDE ($9.99/month)
- Portuguese Plus ($14.99/month)
- Entretenimiento Plus ($9.99/month)
FuboTV Senior Discount
At the time of writing, FuboTV does not offer a specific discount or plan for seniors. At $74.99 per month for the starting plan with no add-ons, FuboTV is among the most expensive cable services out there.
In comparison, a basic plan costs $50 per month through Xfinity, $56 per month through Cox, and $59.99 per month through Spectrum. So you need to be certain that the channels offered by FuboTV, especially the unique sports streaming features, are worth the extra money for you.
FuboTV Pricing
FuboTV bills its customers per month at the base price of the plan plus any add-ons and premium channels you include in your subscription. The plans themselves cost $74.99 to $94.99, with the separate Latino plan costing $32.99. That plan offers 60 Spanish channels, 250 DVR hours, and two screens.
No matter which of the plans you get, FuboTV offers a no-contract free trial that lets you try out their packages with no risk.
FuboTV Packages
FuboTV Plan | Pro | Elite | Premier | Latino |
---|---|---|---|---|
Monthly Price | $74.99 | $84.99 | $94.99 | $32.99 |
Channels* | 163 | 233 | 242 | 60 |
Simultaneous Streams | Up to 10 | Up to 10 | Up to 10 | Up to 2 |
4K Streaming | No | Yes | Yes | No |
*The exact number of channels will vary slightly by location.
FuboTV Add-Ons
If your plan doesn’t have exactly what you want to watch, you can pay for add-ons directly from your FuboTV account to get access to the programming they include. This will add to your monthly bill, but it will always remain one bill no matter how many channels you want.
These are the most popular add-ons for FuboTV subscriptions:
Sports Plus with NFL RedZone
For $10.99 more per month, Sports Plus with NFL RedZone gets you access to NFL Redzone as well as the NHL Network, MLB Network, NBA TV, Tennis Channel, Zona Futbol, Game+, Fight Network, and much more.
Fubo Extra
Fubo Extra costs $7.99 per month and includes 41 channels, including BBC World News, NBA TV, the Game Show Network, the Cooking Channel, Sony, Revolt, CNBC, the Tennis Channel, and more.
International Sports Plus
International Sports Plus costs $6.99 per month and includes non-English sports programming and tournament channels like Fox Deportes, Fubo Latina Network, Zona Futbol, GolTV English and Spanish, ESPN HD Deportes, and more.
Adventure Plus
Adventure Plus adds $4.99 per month to your subscription and gives you six channels – the Outdoor Channel, World Fishing Network, Sportsman Channel, MAV TV, Outside TV, and Insight TV.
Sports Lite
The Sports Lite add-on gives you part of the full sports subscription for only $9.99 per month. The smaller bundle includes the MLB Network, NHL Network, SEC Network, Tennis Channel, ACC Network, ESPN-U, ESPN News, and NBA TV channels.
Latino Plus
Latino Plus costs $19.99 per month and gives you access to 22 Spanish sports and entertainment channels, including Zona Futbol, ESPN HD Deportes, Fox Deportes, Sony Cine Television, TyC Sports, Nat Geo Mundo, Telefe, Discovery en Espanol, and more.
Portuguese Plus
Portuguese Plus costs $14.99 per month and includes five channels: Benfica TV, RTP International, RTP 3, RTP Acores, and GolTV.
TV5MONDE
TV5MONDE costs $9.99 per month and gives you French-language sports, film, and news coverage. They have options for English subtitles.
RAI Italia
RAI Italia is an $8.99 add-on that gives you Italian sports and news coverage, with a few movie channels. Its content includes Seria A and Coppa Italia soccer coverage.
FuboTV vs. Hulu
Hulu is a streaming service that offers on-demand content, such as movies and shows, starting at $7.99 per month. However, they also have Live Sports and Live TV add-ons that give you 85 live channels like ABC, CBS, Fox, NBS, ESPN, ESPN 2, Golf, FS1, TNT, CBS Sports, and ACCN for extra fees.
These plans cost $69.99 to $82.99 per month and also come with access to Disney+ and ESPN+. Hulu cannot offer as much live channel customization, split-screen viewing, or shared account access. However, they do have far more on-demand content than FuboTV.
Since the prices are comparable, the content and functionality they offer should determine your decision. If you prioritize sports programming, multiple account access, custom add-ons, or Spanish-language programming, FuboTV has more options for you.
FYI: To learn more about Hulu, read our guide to Hulu for seniors.
Our Verdict
FuboTV allows you to customize the channels and sports networks you want to pay for. However, even their basic plan costs $74.99 per month, making it more expensive than most cable networks and far pricier than any streaming service.
Since FuboTV offers a free trial, you can try them out to see if they work for your setup. The best reason to sign up with them is to get the live sports coverage not offered by most streaming services while saving yourself on other cable bills. However, if you don’t think you’ll need their unique channel options, you may want to look to ESPN+ (starting at $9.99/month) or Peacock TV (starting at $5.99/month) for cheaper sports coverage.
Also, be sure to check out our rundown of the best streaming services for seniors.