Every Second, Show and Channel Counts at Fox’s Upfront

The Big Message: No matter what corner of Fox’s service offering advertisers place their dollars on, from entertainment and sports on the broadcast network to sports-only channels (Fox Sports 1 and 2 and Spanish-language Fox Deportes), news/information services (Fox News Channel/Fox Business Network) and on-demand content/multichannel bundle Tubi, those dollars will be well-spent. Chalk the results up to growing viewership that appreciates what they see, added Jeff Collins, Fox’s President of Advertising Sales, Marketing and Brand Partnerships. “Every second counts,” Collins continued. “People come to Fox with intentions, and they stay because of attention. Our offerings are complete and fundamental to your media plan. Everything you need and nothing you don’t.”

Hosts: Fox depended on a group of celebrities and network personalities to keep the event under 90 minutes, with Collins the lone on-stage executive.

What Worked: The freewheeling pace, signified by no down time between segments, lots of video clips and videowall still shots of new series or (in Tubi’s case) made-for-TV movies, and impromptu banter among the talent. Great example of the latter: Fox NFL Sunday co-host Miichael Strahan giving David Letterman a bear-hug off the floor as part of promoting the channel’s coverage of the Indianapolis 500 auto race later this month.

What Also Worked: An uncluttered stage with a semi-circular videowall in the center that on cue, spelled out talent in large letters and when needed, could rise to the ceiling.

What Can Work Here: Offering more time to show off accomplishments at Fox Business Network and Fox Deportes, with Deportes coming off its first-ever live Super Bowl presentation.

Data Points: Fox’s Super Bowl simulcast with Tubi and Fox Deportes three months ago attracted 127.7 million viewers, a record-setting result for pro football’s championship game. Tubi, with more than 50,000 on-demand titles and 400 channels, has 97 million active viewers every month. About 67 percent of Tubi viewers are former cable/satellite customers or people who never subscribed to cable or satellite. Fox’s 2024 World Series baseball coverage hit a seven-year viewership high.

News: Fox’s broadcast net will start the 2025-26 season with a pair of new game shows -- 99 To Beat (co-hosted by Ken Jeong and Erin Andrews) and Celebrity Weakest Link (with Jane Lynch as host) Three scripted programs will enter the lineup around midseason: comedy/dramedy Bad Medicine, crime drama Memory of A Killer and miniseries The Faithful. The future of four current Fox series -- The Cleaning Lady, Accused, Alert: Missing Persons Unit and toon The Great North --remains up in the air. In a pre-event development, Fox unveiled Fox One, a new subscription bundle venture giving smart TV product customers access to its full portfolio of broadcast and cable channels, plus local station programming and Fox Nation, in both linear and on-demand formats. Fox One will debut late summer before the start of the college football and NFL regular seasons.

Bonus Points: Special Report anchorperson Bret Baier speaking live from Saudi Arabia during a segment featuring Fox News Channel reporters. At the end, attendees were given champagne and glasses to toast Gordon Ramsey on two decades as a top Fox personality. On the way out, everyone received a backpack with a pretzel and popcorn inside.

Parting Words: “I haven’t seen people so ready to drink since last year’s Upfront. I’ve been busier than Elon Musk on Mother’s Day.’’ -Jamie Foxx, host of Beat Shazam

“We’re always out to challenge the status quo and challenge the conventional thinking.” -Fox President of Advertising Sales, Marketing and Brand Partnerships Jeff Collins

“We’re making bold moves because we’re in a moment that demands it. You can expect us to go bigger. We’re becoming the home for the next generation of Hollywood talent.” -Tubi Chief Executive Officer Anjali Sud

“Here’s my Tubi project: Kiss My Balls.” -Going Dutch and former Rescue Me star Denis Leary

“The news will probably change 50 times before the end of the week.” -Bret Baier, anchorperson of Special Report on Fox News Channel

“It’s so nice to be out of the house. I haven’t worked since Bonanza.” -David Letterman, making his second unannounced appearance at an Upfront or NewFront presentation (the first was Samsung’s NewFront event the previous Tuesday for Samsung TV Plus’ Letterman TV channel)

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