After years of resisting the direct-to-consumer wave, Fox is officially entering the DTC arena with Fox One, a new streaming service set to launch ahead of the 2025 NFL season. The move is both expected and distinctively “Fox” — minimalist in ambition, focused on reach over exclusivity, and sharply tuned to the economics of live sports and cable.
A DTC Entry Without the Streaming Bloat
Fox One isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel. It won’t be a content-heavy service chasing prestige drama, nor will it compete head-on with Disney+, Peacock or Paramount+. Instead, Fox One is positioned as a direct line to what Fox already does well: live sports, news, and mainstream entertainment.
Subscribers will get access to streams of the Fox broadcast network, FS1, FS2, Fox News, Fox Business, BTN, Fox Deportes, and local stations. There will also be bundling potential with Fox Nation. According to CEO Lachlan Murdoch, the goal is to serve the “cordless community” — those who’ve cut the cord or never had one — without cannibalizing the existing pay-TV business.
“It will be a failure of us if we attract connected subscribers,” Murdoch said plainly. “We do not want to lose a traditional cable subscriber to Fox One.”
That comment underscores what’s really happening here: Fox isn’t going all-in on streaming — it’s hedging.
Timing and Strategy
Fox One will launch before the start of the NFL season, though no specific date or price point has been confirmed. Murdoch hinted pricing will be in line with wholesale levels and “healthy,” and that distribution partnerships are in the works.
This is all unfolding in the wake of the failed Venu Sports joint venture with Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery. With Venu off the table due to legal and competitive hurdles, Fox was left to go it alone. Hiring Pete Distad, the former Apple and Hulu exec who had been tapped to run Venu, signals Fox is serious about execution even if it’s still cautious on streaming economics.
A Conservative Approach to Streaming
Fox’s restraint isn’t new — it’s part of the strategy. While other legacy media companies scrambled to scale streaming platforms and took heavy losses along the way, Fox sat on the sidelines, watching and cashing checks. It sold its studio to Disney in 2019 for $71 billion and leaned on a slim, profitable portfolio centered around news and sports.
That patience has worked. Fox posted a 27% YoY revenue increase in its fiscal Q3, reaching $4.37 billion. That was boosted by a record-setting Super Bowl, strong Tubi performance, and a significant uptick in Fox News viewership. Advertising revenue alone rose 65% YoY, passing $800 million for the quarter.
Tubi, in particular, is doing serious work for the company. The free, ad-supported streamer saw 35% revenue growth YoY and drove major audience gains during the Super Bowl, adding 24 million viewers and 8 million registrations on game day alone.
No Original Content Arms Race
One of the most notable elements of Fox One is what it won’t do. There are no grand plans for original content or prestige streaming exclusives. Unlike rivals, Fox isn’t burning cash to build a differentiated streaming library. Instead, it’s repackaging what it already owns and monetizing it in a new distribution format.
It’s a cost-contained way to expand reach and stay relevant with younger, broadband-only households. And in a year when ESPN is launching its own DTC service, Fox can’t afford to fall behind in getting its core sports and news properties in front of unbundled audiences.
The Take
Fox One isn’t trying to disrupt the market — it’s trying to extend what’s already working. The service is built to complement, not replace, Fox’s traditional distribution model. It offers a direct line to core content for broadband-only households, without the expense or complexity of building a Netflix-style platform.
What stands out most is the discipline. Fox has waited longer than its peers to go DTC, and it’s doing so without overcommitting on content or capital. This isn’t a pivot — it’s a safeguard. With pay-TV viewership eroding and sports rights growing more expensive, Fox One gives the company a way to stay visible and monetizable across all screens — while continuing to protect the value of its cable relationships.
