Even in the midst of a high-profile presidential election last fall, sports stood out as a primary revenue and profit driver for Fox, and they will continue to do so in 2025.
The company reported Tuesday a 20% boost in revenue to $5.1 billion for its fiscal second quarter that ran from October to December 2024, while net income more than doubled to $388 million. It was the second straight robust period for Fox following a strong first quarter, and while political advertising surrounding the election was critical, sports remains a core underpinning for the entire company.
Among the highlights for Fox during the quarter:
- Improved MLB postseason viewership, peaking with the Yankees-Dodgers World Series that produced the largest audience for that event since 2017
- Heightened pricing for ads during NFL games, even amid a decline in regular-season viewership
- Both viewership and advertising gains from an expanded college football slate included a new focus on Friday nights
“We are firing on all cylinders,” said Fox CEO and executive chair Lachlan Murdoch in an earnings call Tuesday with analysts. “Sports remains remarkably robust.”
The One Downside
Murdoch said the lone sports disappointment for Fox during the quarter was the abrupt demise of Venu Sports, the sports-oriented streaming service developed in partnership with ESPN and Warner Bros. Discovery. The shuttering arrived just days after ESPN parent company Disney reached a deal to acquire a majority stake in Fubo, which had legally challenged the formation of Venu Sports.
“While the Venu team had done a tremendous amount of truly genius work preparing the digital platform, in the end, the legal distractions around the business became increasingly difficult to bear,” he said.
Fox will be developing its own direct-to-consumer streaming service, with a public debut targeted for late 2025. The effort, however, will take something of a back seat to the company’s business in linear television.
“We see the traditional cable bundle as still the most value for our consumers, and the most value for our company,” Murdoch said.
There was no mention of the ongoing sexual misconduct allegations within Fox Sports in the earnings call.
Super Bowl Watch
The current quarter for Fox, of course, will be highlighted by Sunday’s Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans, to be shown by the network. It’s not yet certain whether the game will be able to match last year’s record-setting draw of 123.4 million for the Super Bowl, but there already have been boosts from expanded measurement methodology from Nielsen, and ad sales that in some instances have reached an unprecedented $8 million per 30-second unit.
The game will also be shown on Fox’s streaming service, Tubi, which typically does not offer the network’s live sports.
“This will broaden the reach of the game and deliver Tubi an opportunity to engage a large cohort of new users,” Murdoch said.
