In its last quarter before being acquired by FaceBank Group, virtual MVPD fuboTV's revenue rose 78%, to $51 million, compared to a year ago.
The transaction was completed on April 1.
The company, operating as fuboTV, said first-quarter subscription revenue was up 74% to $46.4 million and advertising revenue rose 120% to $4.1 million. Subscriber expenses were $78 million.
Full financial results, including net income, will be released later Wednesday in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Total streaming hours increased 120% to 107.2 million hours and monthly active users watched 120 hours per month on average. Paid subscribers were up 37% to 287,316.
“We believe fuboTV is at the forefront of the streaming revolution and has a significant advantage not only over peers in the vMVPD space but also over traditional cable television,” said CEO David Gandler in a letter to shareholders. “We offer cord-cutters a total cable TV replacement with top Nielsen-ranked sports, news and entertainment channels. What sets fuboTV apart is our internally built tech stack that keeps us innovating ahead of the industry.”
Gandler noted that the absence of live sports should be taken into account when looking at the company’s performance. The company typically adds more subscribers in the third and fourth quarter, and plans to spend most of its marketing dollars then, he said.
Since the merger, the company had added $46 million in equity funding, including $20 million from Credit Suisse Capital through a common stock issuance at $9.25 a share.
“Looking ahead, we are focused on driving both top-line growth while making progress on our path to profitability,” Gandler said. “Our financial model is driven by strong unit economics, and margin improvement should continue over time, aided by a number of initiatives, including the growth of advertising on our platform along with strong attach rates on value-added services including cloud DVR storage and the ability to view multiple streams.”
