Fox Rides World Cup to $4.57B Quarter as Thanksgiving Hopes Fade

The FIFA men’s World Cup generated a significant financial boost for Fox, with the media company reporting a $4.57 billion revenue for its fiscal first quarter that ended on September 30, marking a 22% increase compared to the same period last year. Advertising revenue expanded by 47% to $2.08 billion, and net income surged 57% to $957 million, all of which were largely driven by the World Cup.

Despite the U.S. team's disappointing early exit in the round of 16, the World Cup averaged 7.74 million viewers, a 116% increase from the 2022 tournament in Qatar. Fox's English-language coverage of the championship game between Argentina and Spain on July 19 drew an average of 42.5 million viewers on Fox Sports, the highest-rated programming on U.S. television since February's Super Bowl LXX.

Fox Sports Chairman and CEO Lachlan Murdoch emphasized that sports, as expected, drove considerable engagement across the entire Fox platform during the quarter. Murdoch also stated that Fox is currently evaluating the rights for the 2030 and 2034 World Cups in a cautious manner, like any other sports rights. Looking ahead to the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, Fox is anticipating a strong lineup of college and professional football, with the Thanksgiving Day NFL game between the Eagles and Cowboys serving as the centerpiece.

However, the network's hopes for breaking last year's record viewership for an NFL regular-season game have diminished, as both the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys are currently struggling. Fox plans to distribute the Thanksgiving game on its free Tubi streaming service, a move aimed at expanding the broadcast's consumer reach.