Late Monday afternoons in May have become Fox Corporation's big Upfront week showcase in recent years. That remained the case May 13, when Fox engaged an ad industry crowd over spending more Upfront dollars for its services -- entertainment fare on the Fox broadcast network, sports coverage on Fox, Fox Sports 1, Fox Sports 2 and Spanish-language Fox Deportes, the trio of Fox News Media services (Fox News Channel/Fox Business Network/Fox Weather) and multichannel bundle Tubi, playing through smart TV sets and devices. For the second consecutive year, Hammerstein Ballroom inside Manhattan Center on West 34th Street was the venue.
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The Big Message: However an advertiser deploys their campaign through one or more Fox properties, they'll get maximum audience reach and impact. Count on that result to expand over the 2024-25 season and beyond, due to a long-term original production commitment in the face of competitive challenges ahead. "Increased investment leads to stronger content," advocated Jeff Collins, Fox Corp.'s President of Advertising Sales, Marketing and Brand Properties. "What a time we're living in. Where some see disruption, we see opportunity."
Hosts: Fox NFL Sunday co-host Michael Strahan and Fox food competition series maker/personality Gordon Ramsay. The yin and yang this pair serve up when on stage is compelling and delightful. Yes, Ramsay let his penchant for salty language surface here and there.
What Worked: Solid mix of new, upcoming content details, sizzle reels and celebrity/personality appearances for all four of the main topics (entertainment/sports/news/Tubi). A number of celebrities went off-script to poke fun at Fox executives in the audience or each other. Three examples: Jamie Foxx consistently inviting the audience to applaud for Fox Entertainment Chief Executive Rob Wade; Joel McHale and Ken Jeong trading barbs about involvement in multiple Fox series, and Fox Sports college football/basketball play-by-play caller Gus Johnson's words with former sports superstar turned football coach Deion Sanders.
What Also Worked: The fashion runway-modeled stage, surrounded by attendees sitting at tables or sofas. Made the presentation more intimate for everyone watching on the ground floor.
What Can Work Here: Ramsey taking a few minutes to discuss Bite, his new global food/entertainment venture with Fox announced the week before. The initial details suggest there's a new range of TV, multimedia and live event options for ad support.
Data Points: Tubi -- accountable for 1.6 percent of all TV viewing with about 80 million monthly active users according to Nielsen research -- -enjoyed 60 percent year-over-year viewership and 15 percent audience growth in 2023, in addition to a 35 percent increase in viewership among adults 18-49. Sixty-three percent of Tubi consumers dropped their cable/satellite subscriptions or never subscribed to them.
News: Two new scripted series will be on Fox's broadcast primetime lineup this fall: lifeguard drama Rescue Hi-Surf from executive producer John Wells (Mondays running after 9-1-1: Lone Star) and mystery tale Murder In A Small Town (Tuesdays following the second season return of anthology drama Accused). The midseason/late season newbies: medical drama Doc, live-action comedy Going Dutch with Denis Leary as co-star and executive producer, animated comedy Universal Basic Guys, which already has earned a second season, and outdoor competition Extracted. The Real Full Monty, a two-hour special raising awareness for prostate and related cancers, will run later this year. Former NFL quarterback Tom Brady will join Kevin Burhardt as Fox's lead pro football announcing team this season, concluding with the Super Bowl next February. Tubi's new content presentations ahead include made-for-TV movie The QB Bad Boy & Me, based on a popular Wattpad novel, reality series My Crazy Quince and Peter Dinklage/Juliette Lewis-starring western The Thicket.
Bonus Points: Fox News Channel correspondent Benjamin Hall -- severely wounded last year when reporting from Ukraine -- getting a standing ovation from the audience at the start of his segment. Moments later, fellow FNC correspondent Trey Yingst appeared live from Israel, where he's covering that nation's war with Hamas, to debrief Hall and attendees on developments there.
Parting Words: "Did you know that Tubi has more users than all the people who populate the Upfronts?" -Fox Sports host/reporter Erin Andrews.
"We stand for something -- entertainment for the cordless generation." -Tubi Chief Executive Officer Anjali Sud.
"Our program is as heart-racing as it is heart-wrenching." -Doc star Molly Parker.
"My mother is working to pitch seven other shows (on Fox)." -Anthony Anderson, who will host The Real Full Montyspecial.
"You were my second-favorite guest on Animal Control this season. The first? The sloth." -Animal Control star/Crime Scene Kitchen host Joel McHale, speaking to The Masked Singer judge/I Can See Your Voice host Ken Jeong.
"When Gus is on the call, we get ball!" -Deion "Prime Time" Sanders.
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The opinions expressed here are the author's views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillage.org/MyersBizNet.