By Jaspreet Singh
(Reuters) -Fox Corp said its new subscription-based streaming service will be called “Fox One” and is set to launch before the fall American football season as the company seeks to reach audiences beyond its mainstay cable television business.
Unveiling details on Monday about the service first announced in February, Fox said pricing for “Fox One” would align with its wholesale rates and would not be at a discount.
Shares of the company rose 5% as it also surpassed quarterly revenue expectations, thanks to a surge in advertising sales driven by its broadcast of “Super Bowl LIX” in February.
The Murdoch family-controlled company has largely sat out the streaming race, betting instead on ad revenue from its free Tubi streaming service that has about 97 million monthly active users.
Fox will partner with other distributors and services to offer Fox One, CEO Lachlan Murdoch said, hinting at potential bundling deals with other streamers — a strategy that has gained traction as companies look to curb subscriber churn.
“The pricing will be healthy,” Murdoch said.
Launching the service ahead of the NFL season should drive good initial uptake, regardless of price, said Paolo Pescatore, analyst at PP Foresight. But he flagged doubts about how many streaming services the market could sustain.
In the March quarter, more advertisers turned to the owner of FOX News, FOX Sports and Tubi to tap its growing viewership. An estimated 127.7 million viewers tuned in for the Super Bowl championship broadcast by Fox, the largest audience in TV history for a single-network telecast.
Revenue rose 27% to $4.37 billion in the third quarter, beating an estimate of $4.18 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. Advertising revenue surged 65%. Adjusted profit per share of $1.10 beat an estimate of $0.91 per share.
FOX News now has more than 200 new advertisers since U.S. Election Day. “They’re sticking on our air and continue to advertise,” Murdoch said.
LightShed Partners expects FOX News will be the “biggest beneficiary” in this year’s TV advertising upfronts, which are annual events where TV networks and streaming platforms present their upcoming programming to advertisers.
(Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)
