Fox announces launch date and pricing for its comprehensive streaming service, Fox One

Up until now, Rupert Murdoch and Fox have been the streaming contrarians in the media space choosing to sit out investing and losing billions of dollars launching a comprehensive streaming service. Fox has instead been content largely focusing on its limited ad-supported streaming service, Tubi, and its niche subscription service Fox Nation, but similar to ESPN, had largely kept the vast majority of its sports offerings exclusively on their broadcast network and cable.

But with streaming here to stay and the dour trajectory of the popular of people that are sticking with the cable bundle, Fox will enter the upcoming football season and baseball playoffs with a streaming option in hopes of finding subscribers interested in its sports rights as well as other core properties.

At Fox’s earnings call this morning, Lachlan Murdoch announced a launch date for Fox One of August 21 and a price of $19.99 a month.

Per Variety, Fox announced that all existing Fox cable subscribers would get access to Fox One and that the service would include the totality of Fox content.

Fox has no intent of abandoning its traditional linear audience, Murdoch said, but sees a new group of consumers who crave the company’s programming but do not subscribe to cable or satellite services. He said all Fox programming would be made available on Fox One, and noted that linear Fox subscribers would be able to access the service without paying additional charges.

“We have long said that we aspire to engage with our viewers, wherever suits them best. The traditional cable bundle remains our favorite distribution channel, as we believe it continues to provide exceptional value to consumers,” Murdoch said during the call. Fox One aims for “another important audience segment, those wanting a paid, targeted offering encompassing all Fox brands.”

In remains unclear if Fox will produce content exclusively for Fox One similar to services like Hulu, Peacock, Paramount Plus, and HBO Max, all of which have incentivized viewers to subscribe directly with their service or potentially even in addition to already having cable.

With ESPN also launching its streaming service, this is really the first football season in which a football fan can unplug from the cable universe and be able to watch the vast majority of college and NFL games without missing a large amount of games.

While it’s nice to have more options in getting your fix of sports, both moves put further stress on the economics of the cable business. And they are likely to ultimately cost fans more money to get the sports they want, while adding more confusion for less media and technogically savvy fans who are struggling to adapt to the streaming era.