FuboTV rebrands to Fubo, with help from Ryan Reynolds, Kevin Garnett, and Mark Sanchez

There’s a big change coming to FuboTV. Specifically, they’re dropping the “TV” from the name, rebranding their consumer-facing products to just “Fubo.” And they’re doing so with a major campaign created in partnership with Ryan Reynolds’ Maximum Effort Productions. This is part of a multi-year deal between Fubo and Maximum Effort, and Reynolds is also a Fubo investor. The deal will it will include the forthcoming launch of the Maximum Effort Channel as a linear network on Fubo, plus an exclusive first-look for unscripted series and a blind scripted deal.

On Tuesday, that campaign dropped its first ad, “If Sports Fans Built A Streaming Service.” It features former NBA star Kevin Garnett and NFL QB-turned-Fox analyst Mark Sanchez. Reynolds published it on his own YouTube channel Tuesday morning:

Here’s more on why Fubo is doing this rebrand, from a release:

“FuboTV has grown in size and scope, with multiple brands under our global umbrella, since we launched our core cable TV replacement product in 2015,” said David Gandler, co-founder and CEO, Fubo. “Alongside our continued growth, our consumers have affectionately shortened our name to Fubo and we feel that name represents the premium media brand we are today. We’re building on this momentum with an updated visual identity and new ad campaign, created in partnership with Ryan Reynolds’ Maximum Effort, to continue to drive profitable growth as we head into baseball season.”

“The reason Maximum Effort believes in Fubo is it’s the one product that captures the best of cable and the best of streaming, while having the very meaningful differentiator of live sports. While cable fights cord-cutters and streaming services fight the cash content war, Fubo is building an experience and suite of services that can win,” said investor Ryan Reynolds.

…“In a time with seemingly endless options, our new brand campaign shows what sets Fubo apart as a must-have for sports fans,” said Pamela Duckworth, head of Fubo Networks and originals, Fubo. “We worked hand-in-hand with Maximum Effort to bring this concept to life and I’m extremely proud of the content we’re creating together.”

Reynolds has certainly proven to be a savvy investor and marketer, with recent successes including Mint Mobile. He bought a stake in that 2016-founded company in 2019, and is expected to get around $300 million following its sale last week to T-Mobile. He’s also found a lot of success with spirits like Aviation Gin, where he bought a stake in 2018 and retained a stake even after their 2020 sale to Diageo. And he’s familiar with the sports content and sports ownership world from his ownership (with Rob McElhenney) of Welsh soccer club Wrexham, currently in the fifth-tier National League, which has led to the Welcome To Wrexham series. We’ll see what he does with Fubo.

[Ryan Reynolds on YouTube]