The number of streamers paying for a version of Fox Corporation’s nascent streaming service Fox One has surpassed 2 million subscribers since its mid-August launch, according to new data shared by measurement firm Antenna on Thursday.
The data was revealed ahead of Antenna’s quarterly State of Subscriptions report, which showed the number of sign-ups to Fox One reached 2.3 million by the end of October. Fox One launched on August 21, marking the first time Fox’s linear broadcast and cable networks were available beyond the traditional pay television bundle.
The launch coincided with the roll-out of the Walt Disney Company’s ESPN Unlimited streaming plan, which offers streaming access to the ESPN cable multiplex without a traditional pay TV subscription. The number of customers paying for ESPN Unlimited stood at 1.7 million, based on Antenna’s data, while 1.3 million people signed up for ESPN Select — formerly ESPN Plus — by the end of October.
Fox One costs $20 per month, and ESPN Unlimited costs $30 per month, while ESPN Select is priced around $11 per month. ESPN Select programming is available within the ESPN Unlimited plan. A bundle that offers Fox One and ESPN Unlimited launched in early October at a price of $40 per month.
The October bundle may have juiced Fox One subscriptions, with Antenna noting 1.1 million new sign-ups that month. The likeliest reason was a mixture of premium sports from the National Football League (NFL) and Major League Baseball (MLB) available on Fox One, coupled with Monday Night Football on ESPN and a then-looming carriage dispute involving the Walt Disney Company networks on YouTube.
Antenna promised more insight will be available in the State of Streaming report when it is released next week. The company uses opt-in financial data from bank statements, credit card bills and other sources to determine subscription growth and churn across services.
