Fox Corporation’s direct-to-consumer streaming service carrying the company’s news, sports and entertainment programming will be available for $19.99 a month, the company announced Tuesday.
Fox Corp. Executive Chairman Lachlan Murdoch told Wall Street analysts the offering, called Fox One, will launch Aug. 21 and target consumers who may want the company’s content but no longer have pay TV subscriptions.
Fox One will provide subscribers with their local Fox TV affiliate and the company’s cable channels Fox News, Fox Business Network, Fox Sports 1, Fox Sporrts 2, Fox Weather, Fox Deportes and the Big 10 Network.
There will be no original programming produced for the service.
“Our subscriber expectations and aspirations are modest,” Murdoch said.
Murdoch stressed that the launch of the streaming service does not diminish the company’s commitment to cable and satellite distribution which still brings in significant revenue despite the TV audience’s move toward streaming.
Even as the pay TV universe shrinks, Fox Corp. is still seeing increases in fees from pay TV companies carrying its broadcast and cable channels.
In the fourth quarter earnings announced Tuesday, its broadcast stations saw 4% growth in subscription revenue while its cable channels were up 2%. Overall the company reported revenue of $3.29 billion in the quarter, up 6% over the prior year while net income more than doubled to $719 million.
Murdoch said Fox Corp. is open to marketing Fox One in a bundle of other streaming services.
Between the Fox broadcast network and Fox Sports, Fox One subscribers will have access to a wide range of live events including Major League Baseball’s regular season games and the World Series, the NFL, college football and basketball, the Belmont Stakes, IndyCar racing and the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Fox One is priced well under ESPN’s new stand alonestreaming platform that will be available later this year at $29.99 a month. The Walt Disney Co. is making ESPN available to non-cable subscribers for the first time with its service.
Fox’s current streaming properties are the ad-supported service Tubi, which now accounts for 1% of all TV viewing according to Nielsen, and Fox Nation, a $7.99-per-month service operated by Fox News Media, which has about 2 million subscribers.
Fox Nation is mostly entertainment and documentary shows with several Fox News programs offered a day after they air on cable. Users will be able to bundle Fox One and Fox Nation for $24.99 per month or the equivalent of $19.99 per month when purchasing the annual plan at launch.
