How Rupert Murdoch Changed Sports Media Forever
Fox Sports is poised to cash in on its version of the sports equinox.
Over the four-day Thanksgiving weekend, Fox will televise a series of high-profile sporting events from around the world, including:
- The NFL’s Dallas Cowboys vs. New York Giants on Thursday (4:30 p.m. ET)
- The USA-England World Cup soccer match from Qatar on Black Friday (2 p.m. ET)
- A battle of undefeated college football rivals with No. 2 Ohio State taking on No. 3 Michigan Saturday (Noon ET)
- A full slate of NFL games on Sunday, including the New York Jets vs. Chicago Bears (1 p.m. ET) and Kansas City Chiefs vs. the Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams (4:25 p.m. ET)
A combined 120 million people could watch Fox’s sports coverage this weekend, Fox Sports CEO Eric Shanks predicted at the CAA World Congress of Sports.
Thursday’s Cowboys-Giants game could easily be the most-watched NFL game of the 2022 regular season.
Last Thanksgiving’s Cowboys-Las Vegas Raiders telecast drew a whopping 40.8 million viewers — and was the most-watched game of the 2021 regular season.
And this weekend’s lineup of must-see sporting events is just a prelude to Fox’s coverage of Super Bowl LVII from State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on Feb. 12, 2023.
The confluence of so many massive events is creating an “unusual and unique opportunity” for the network, said former Fox executive Patrick Crakes.
“This kind of mass reach over several days on one distribution platform rarely happens anymore,” Crake said.
“It highlights the enduring value of both Tier 1 live sports, and broadcast TV, in an era of exponentially increasing viewing and engagement fragmentation thanks to the increasing number of content options across all platforms.”
Fox Sports executive Michael Mulvihill tweeted: “The collection of brands and superstars we’re able to present this weekend is dazzling: Cowboys, Buckeyes, Brady, Mbappe, USMNT, Mahomes, Ronaldo, Wolverines, Donald, Messi. Couldn’t be much better.”
