- Fox is planning to launch a direct-to-consumer streaming service by the end of the year, said CEO Lachlahn Murdoch.
- Fox has so far been on the sidelines of streaming, with the exception of its free, ad-supported service Tubi.
- The move comes after Fox and its partners dropped efforts to launch a joint venture sports streaming app called Venu.
Fox Corp. is finally getting into the direct-to-consumer streaming game.
The company known for its news and sports TV content said Tuesday it's aiming to launch a subscription streaming service by the end of the year.
The streaming service is not meant to upend Fox's place in the traditional bundle, said CEO Lachlan Murdoch on the company's quarterly earnings call. Murdoch offered few details on the streaming service on Tuesday beyond the high-level announcement. He said that further information will be released in the coming months.
Unlike its legacy media competitors, Fox has so far been on the sidelines of streaming, with the exception of its free, ad-supported service Tubi. Fox, which will broadcast the Super Bowl on Sunday, is also offering the NFL's biggest game on Tubi for the first time ever.
However, the late move into subscription-based streaming comes after Fox, alongside Warner Bros. Discovery and Disney, last month dropped efforts to launch a joint venture sports streaming app called Venu.
The three companies had planned to pool together all of their sports content and offer it on the Venu streaming service. However, following legal hurdles that delayed the original fall 2024 launch date, the companies called off their plans to launch Venu.
Out of the three partners, Fox was the only one without another option to offer its sports content outside of the cable TV bundle. Warner Bros. Discovery offers its live sports content on streamer Max. Disney's ESPN has its ESPN+ app and is developing a separate direct-to consumer ESPN streamer. The company is targeting an August launch of ESPN "Flagship," the unofficial name of the all-inclusive ESPN service.
Fox's Murdoch referred to the end of Venu as the company's "only disappointment in sports."
Fox has focused its strategy on sports and news content after selling its entertainment assets to Disney in 2019. The company has reported stable viewership and advertising revenue, even during the recent ad market slump. Live sports and news remain the highest rated content in the traditional TV bundle, even as consumers cut the cord for streaming alternatives.
"We're huge supporters of the traditional cable bundle, and we always will be," said Murdoch on Tuesday's call. "But having said that, we do want to reach consumers wherever they are, and there's a large population, obviously, that are now outside of the traditional cable bundle."
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