The overall market may be down, but Fox is on the rise.
Despite challenges from Madison Avenue and forecasts of tighter advertiser budgets, Fox Corp. has secured more commitments for its sports, news, and entertainment properties compared to the previous year, as per a source familiar with the negotiations.
This source indicates that Fox achieved a double-digit percentage increase in advertising volume associated with both Tubi and Fox News Channel, and reached “record” volumes for sports and news. However, commercial investments in scripted entertainment on the Fox broadcast network remained constant compared to last year’s figures. Overall, ad commitments to the broader Fox portfolio increased in the high-single-digit percentage range, according to the source.
“Fox delivered another strong Upfront performance, reflecting the value of our portfolio across Sports, News, Entertainment and Tubi,” stated Jeff Collins, president of advertising sales, marketing, and brand partnership at Fox Corp. The “upfront” season is when U.S. media companies strive to sell the majority of their commercial inventory ahead of their upcoming programming cycle.
Fox’s distinct advantage lies in offering more of what advertisers desire and less of what they don’t. While Disney, NBCUniversal, Paramount Skydance, and Warner Bros. Discovery have sports to sell, they also carry substantial ad inventory tied to cable networks such as TNT, E!, MTV, and Freeform, which are losing appeal among marketers. Advertisers are eager to invest in major sports broadcasts that attract large audiences watching live. Additionally, streaming offers value as more consumers view content on their own schedules.
In 2019, Fox reduced its cable assets by selling properties like FX to Disney in a deal reportedly valued at over $71 billion. Since then, Fox has focused more on live programming, including news and sports, with limited traditional entertainment programming.
Fox Corp. reported securing nearly $6.9 billion in advertising for its fiscal 2025, according to company disclosures.
In May, Fox captivated advertisers with a presentation focused on sports and digital-ad capabilities. Chief Technology Officer Melody Hildebrandt made a rare appearance, and CEO Lachlan Murdoch gave public remarks, a move not seen from his family in recent memory.
Fox’s upfront success was bolstered by additional commitments from pharmaceutical, technology, and financial-services advertisers, according to the source. Eight out of the company’s ten largest ad-spending categories increased their commitments, the source noted.
Similar to its competitors, Fox encountered a challenging market in 2026. Advertisers continued to push for substantial “rollbacks” on rates, especially for streaming inventory, which is expected to be the future of the medium. The supply of streaming ad time is vast, particularly with Amazon and Netflix in the market, but much of it is considered low-value as consumers can watch movies and shows on demand, leading to dispersed audiences.
Pressure for rollbacks on cable inventory also exists, as more consumers move away from cable in favor of streaming services. Many media companies have resisted, leading to standoffs in some upfront negotiations, according to five executives familiar with the current talks.
Fox “did not write one rollback,” according to the source familiar with the company’s upfront discussions.
Fox secured increases in the cost per thousand (CPM) viewers, a crucial metric in negotiations with Madison Avenue. The company achieved CPM increases in the mid-single-digit to low-double-digit percentage range for sports, and in the mid-single-digit percentage range for Fox News and the Fox entertainment schedule.
Many major video companies will need to leverage sports and other high-profile properties to boost sales of advertising linked to less appealing assets. However, Fox, according to the source, had “a simple story” to present and only “a small, finite amount” of traditional TV to sell. The company did not need to prolong negotiations to obtain fair value for cable entertainment.
