Fox Corporation’s new streaming service Fox One is performing well in its first two weeks on the market, with sign-ups exceeding the company’s expectations, its chief executive confirmed this week.
During an appearance Tuesday at an industry event in San Francisco, Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch said Fox One is expected to get a major boost in October when the service is paired with ESPN Unlimited as a bundled offering.
On its own, Fox One offers access to local Fox stations and affiliates, plus Fox News, Fox Business, Fox Sports 1 (FS1), Fox Sports 2 (FS2) and Fox Weather for $20 per month. ESPN Unlimited offers streaming access to ESPN’s cable multiplex for $30 per month. The bundle, which launches in early October, will cost $40 per month.
“We think it will be the essential sports bundle for sports fans in America,” Murdoch said.
While sports is expected to be a driver of Fox One sign-ups, Murdoch said Fox News is seeing high engagement among subscribers and is equally responsible for attracting and retaining streamers to the service.
“The balance between news and sports, which is also an overlap in audiences, has been very successful,” Murdoch said. “We are seen really as an essential service,” he added, noting that Fox is also in discussions with outside distributors to bundle Fox One.
“You’ll see as we move forward our intent to bundle with other providers,” Murdoch said.
Operational costs of Fox One are being offset by Fox’s ad-supported video service Tubi, which Murdoch described as a crucial revenue driver. Fox’s television segment revenue rose 6 percent to $1.71 billion during its most-recent financial quarter, up from $1.61 billion a year earlier, aided by a 3 percent increase in Tubi’s advertising business.
Fox acquired Tubi five years ago for $440 million. The service reaches more than 60 million households that do not subscribe to traditional pay television, Murdoch said. He added that the platform is on track to reach profitability, even as some of its capital is being redeployed to help expand Fox One.
