FuboTV (FuboTV (FUBO)) shares are having a good Monday, and it's not just because the broader market is having a bad one. While the Nasdaq dropped 1.77% and the S&P 500 fell 0.70%, FuboTV shares were up 9.69% to $10.07 as of publication. The move comes after the company officially welcomed its new CEO, Alisa Bowen, who took the reins on Friday.
Bowen is a Disney+ veteran—she spent about a decade at The Walt Disney Company, most recently as President of Disney+. She was a founding member of Disney's Streaming Leadership team and helped build and scale Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ globally. Before that, she held executive roles at News Corporation, Dow Jones, and Thomson Reuters. In other words, she knows streaming and digital media inside out.
She succeeds David Gandler, who co-founded FuboTV 11 years ago and resigned from the Board of Directors as part of his employment agreement. Bowen is expected to join the Board after the Annual Meeting of Stockholders on July 28, pending approval.
“Alisa is a proven operator who brings nearly 30 years of product, digital and operational experience, including leadership across Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+,” said Andy Bird, Chairman of the Board. “She has an established track record of driving global subscriber growth and profitability.”
Bowen herself seems ready to hit the ground running. “I am excited to lead Fubo in its next phase as we sharpen its strategy across sports, news and entertainment, accelerate growth and drive profitability,” she said in a statement.
The leadership change comes at an interesting time for FuboTV. The stock is trading near its 52-week low of $7.95, and short interest is notable. According to the latest data, short interest increased from 6.92 million to 7 million shares, representing 24.14% of the company's publicly available shares sold short. With an average daily volume of 1.69 million shares, it would take about 4.14 days for short sellers to cover their positions. That's a lot of bearish bets riding against the company.
But Monday's move suggests that investors are betting Bowen's experience can turn things around. The streaming space is brutally competitive, but FuboTV has carved out a niche in sports-focused live TV. With a seasoned media executive at the helm, the company might be positioning itself for a stronger play in the streaming wars.
For now, the market seems to like what it sees. Whether Bowen can deliver on the promise of growth and profitability remains to be seen, but she's got the resume to make it a compelling story.
