Fox to take on Netflix and Hulu with subscription streaming service

Fox has unveiled plans for a new streaming service to launch before the end of the year. 

Fox has largely kept out of the streaming wars, but the new direct-to-consumers service is a challenge to the likes of Hulu and Netflix. 

The new product is not meant to challenge Fox’s place in the traditional TV bundle, CEO Lachlan Murdoch said on Tuesday. 

Murdoch made the announcement on the company’s quarterly earnings call, but did not reveal many details. 

‘We’re huge supporters of the traditional cable bundle, and we always will be,’ Murdoch told investors on the 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.’

Murdoch said Fox does not intent to convert traditional cable TV customers into streaming subscribers of the new app.

The app will simply be packaging its existing sports and news content and does not ‘expect to have any exclusive rights costs or additional incremental rights costs’ Murdoch added. 

Fox is currently designing the app and more information will be released in the coming months, Murdoch confirmed.   

The move comes after Fox, known for its news and sports TV, alongside Warner Bros and Disney dropped plans for a joint sports streaming app called Venu.

The three companies had initially planned to pool their sports content on to the joint service. 

However, the plans were hit by legal obstacles and eventually it was called off. 

After selling its entertainment assets to Disney in 2019, Fox has focused on its sports and news content.

Major media companies have spent billions of dollars on sports media rights for their streaming platforms.