• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, June 16, 2023

Fubo, the free, ad-supported streamer (FAST) best known for sports, has continued to expand its non-sports offerings in recent years, following a motto of “Come for the sports, stay for the entertainment.” 

Now the platform is launching a channel and an original series through a partnership with Maximum Effort, a production company co-founded by actor Ryan Reynolds and George Dewey in 2018. 

The new Maximum Effort channel, which will feature original and classic TV and movies, will launch on June 20.

In an example of growing collaboration across competing FASTs, the Fubo/Maximum Effort Channel will be available on Amazon Freevee, LG Channels, Plex, Sling Freestream, VIDAA, Vizion WatchFree Plus and Xumo Play. Sling Freestream will also add distribution of Fubo Sports, the live, free TV network featuring sports stories on and off the field.

The Maximum Effort channel will offer original content, as well as classic TV and movies. 

One focus will be content designed to provide viewers with “maximum comfort,” and the channel will feature “some surprising content breaks,” according to Fubo. 

The channel's first original, “Bedtime Stories with Ryan,” includes 15 episodes of just that: Reynolds reading bedtime stories, with the goal of helping people of all ages relax and fall asleep. 

Autodesk, software created for architects, engineers, students and other creators, is the show’s official “imagination sponsor,” and is being used to design and produce the series. 

The show is produced by Maximum Effort and Fubo in partnership with ArtClass and Loon Productions, with music by Sleeping At Last. 

The linear channel is part of a multi-year partnership with Fubo and Maximum Effort that includes an exclusive first look for unscripted TV series and a blind scripted deal. 

Since launching, Reynolds’ company has produced the “Deadpool” movies, “Free Guy,” “The Adam Project” and the unscripted series “Welcome to Wrexham.”