From Tom Brady to TikTokers to Trump impressions, this year’s Fox upfront had a little bit of everything.
The media company’s Monday evening presentation started, in typical upfront fashion, with some humor, and it ended with a champagne toast. Derek Jeter opened the event before tossing to Jamie Foxx, who fired off a series of jokes including an impersonation of President Donald Trump and a remark that he had “been busier than Elon Musk on Mother’s Day.”
In the hour-plus presentation that followed, Fox execs and talent pitched advertisers on key programming areas including streaming, sports, and news—all while highlighting recent audience engagement across the portfolio.
“Fox viewers are engaged for every second, every moment of the action, in a way that rarely exists in media, which translates into better performance for your advertising,” Jeff Collins, president of ad sales, marketing, and brand partnerships for Fox Corp., said onstage. “Fox may be the only place where every second of your advertising truly counts.”
Stream on: During Fox’s earnings call on Monday just ahead of its upfront, CEO Lachlan Murdoch announced that the company’s upcoming streaming service, which is set to become available before NFL kickoff, will be called Fox One (which is not to be confused with OneFox, Fox’s new AI-powered converged media platform that also rolled out this week).
Fox’s buzzy free streamer Tubi also got stage time. Tubi CEO Anjali Sud took the stage fairly early on in the Fox upfront, emphasizing the streamer’s sports programming, appeal with Gen Z (underscored by the appearance of TikTok and Gen Z heartthrob Noah Beck, who stars in the Tubi original movie Sidelined: The QB and Me), and the streamer’s historical focus on advertising over subscriptions.
“Tubi stands for something different: premium, on-demand entertainment that is 100% free for consumers and 100% powered by ads delivered in a personalized, frictionless experience,” Sud said. “While that may sound simple, it's a uniquely powerful value proposition, especially today. No subscription fees, no price hikes, no paid ad tiers, and no walled gardens.”
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Toss up: Fresh off of a record year of Super Bowl viewership, Fox’s sports portfolio got its fair share of attention beyond Tubi. Sud and several other Fox execs and stars mentioned the upcoming 2026 World Cup games set to run on Fox. The company’s IndyCar rights were also a point of emphasis, and back-to-back Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden showed off his trophy on stage.
The most memorable of Fox’s sports talent was perhaps Tom Brady, who attempted a pass to former New England Patriots teammate Rob Gronkowski, but ended up hitting an audience member instead. Gronk, meanwhile, took a verbal shot at former coach Bill Belichick, joking that Belichick’s girlfriend, 24-year-old Jordon Hudson, wasn’t born when the Fox network debuted in the 1980s.
In the news: During last week’s NewFronts, some publishers strayed away from hard news in their pitches, but cable channel Fox News got about 10 minutes of stage time on Monday. Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum claiming record viewership across political parties.
“There is no question that America is watching, and they are watching Fox News,” MacCallum said. “With more Democrats, Independents, and Republicans turning to Fox News than any other network, we are truly for all America.”
LOL: The news is rarely full of laughs these days, but Fox carved out time for comedy during its presentation, and execs also stressed the importance of the genre during a Sunday press call. Between unscripted gameshows like Celebrity Weakest Link, live-action comedies like Animal Control and Going Dutch, and a deep roster of animated comedies that includes The Simpsons, Family Guy, and Bob’s Burgers, comedy is an area that’s popular among advertisers, according to Katrina Cukaj, EVP of entertainment ad sales and portfolio marketing.
“We have a pretty good standing in-market in terms of co-viewing and family viewing,” Cukaj said during the press call. “From an advertiser standpoint…there is very good demand for that type of content. We do quite well with it, and it’s an important part of our schedule.”