Amazon’s streaming marketplace was the largest single point of new subscriptions to Fox’s streaming service during its first 10 days, according to a new report released by Antenna on Tuesday.
The report found Amazon’s Prime Video Channels marketplace drove nearly 60 percent of new sign-ups to Fox One from August 21 through August 31.
The estimate was based on financial signals collected and evaluated by Antenna, including charges to bank accounts and credit cards used by customers who have opted in to measurement.
Amazon’s streaming marketplace has been a proven driver of growth to smaller and newer streaming services: Last year, Antenna released a report that showed the tech giant’s marketplace was boosting subscriber counts for niche services like Crunchyroll and BBC Select as well as smaller services like BET Plus, AMC Plus and MGM Plus.
Fox One is the second direct-to-consumer streaming service operated by Fox, and the first to offer the company’s broadcast and cable channels independent of a traditional pay TV bundle. The service costs $20 per month when purchased from Fox directly; Amazon charges the same price.
Most customers are opting to pay for Fox One on a monthly basis, with around 2 percent of subscribers opting for the $200 per year plan that Fox offers. Executives at Fox believe the product will see an increase in subscriptions around the start of tent pole sports, including professional and college football, with churn likely higher when those sports franchises are in their off seasons.
By comparison, the Walt Disney Company’s new streaming plan, ESPN Unlimited, is seeing slightly higher interest in its annual plan, which costs $300 for year-round streaming access to ESPN’s cable sports multiplex.
According to Antenna, around 10 percent of new sign-ups to ESPN Unlimited are to its annual plan. ESPN offers a higher amount of live sports compared to its next-positioned peers — Paramount Plus, Peacock, Fox One and HBO Max.
The higher interest in ESPN’s annual plan “suggests that ESPN’s early streaming customers are not just testing the waters — they are ready to commit for the long haul,” Antenna said in a statement on Tuesday.
Less clear is how ESPN Unlimited is performing as a standalone plan compared to its inclusion in Disney-backed streaming bundles, including the Disney Trio, where it is paired with Hulu and Disney Plus.
Next month, ESPN and Fox will offer a bundle that includes access to Fox One and ESPN Unlimited for $40 per month — a savings of $10 off the retail price of each service when purchased independently. A Fox executive said the company is focused on forming more bundles with other streamers in the near future.
