Fox sticks to its upfronts script, focusing on streaming and sports

Fox’s 2026 upfront had some familiar faces, like Tom Brady and Derek Jeter. It had some unexpected surprises, too, like an appearance from CEO Lachlan Murdoch and a musical performance by Jane Krakowski and Jane Lynch.

But all in all, the media company’s upfront presentation was a similar song and dance to previous years.

On Monday, Fox hit its usual content pillars—including streaming, sports, news, and comedy—while also upping the emphasis on reach among young audiences, tech and AI integrations, and live sports this year.

“We’ve been deliberate in shaping a portfolio that puts us in a truly unique and powerful position in the marketplace,” Murdoch, who hasn’t traditionally graced the upfront stage, said during his opening remarks. “We don’t try to do everything, and we don’t pursue scale just for scale’s sake. Instead, we focus where it matters most: live sports, live news, bold entertainment, and ad-supported streaming.”

Tubular: Last year, Tubi CEO Anjali Sud’s pitch during the upfront focused on the streamer’s sports content. Sud doubled down on that approach on Monday, while also emphasizing Tubi’s broader slate of “Hollywood hits, award-winning films, [and] beloved IP,” as well as live sports, including the NFL and the World Cup.

Much of that original content, including movies, is targeted toward Gen Z, she added. Murdoch also hit on Tubi as a platform marketers can use to “connect with hard-to-reach younger audiences.”

Even with certain broadcast network shows, Fox execs are looking for social media extensions to reach cord-cutters. The cast of an upcoming Baywatch reboot “blends top television talent with major social influencers” like Livvy Dunne, Michael Thorn, president of Fox Television Network, said during a press conference call ahead of the presentation. The show, which is set to premiere next year, is already a “strong performer in the ad community,” Katrina Cukaj, EVP of entertainment advertising sales, said on the call.

Tech and targeting: Chief Technology Officer Melody Hildebrandt spent some time focusing on Fox’s latest tech advancements. Tubi was the first streamer to release its own native app in ChatGPT, and Fox also uses AI to analyze content and ad performance, she said. The company also has plans to use AI to let viewers customize their World Cup viewing experiences, Hildebrandt added.

Hildebrandt’s appearance was noteworthy in and of itself, as CTOs don’t tend to be common fixtures on the upfronts stage.

Touchdown: In addition to World Cup coverage—for which Fox is expecting a total of 150 million viewers, according to former New York Giant and Fox NFL Sunday host Michael Strahan—Fox execs and talent touted the rest of the company’s sports rights, including:

• Major League Baseball and the World Baseball Classic;
• College football;
• The Thanksgiving NFL matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles;
• The Indy 500 on Memorial Day Weekend;
• And college basketball, this year tipping off with a doubleheader overseas in Rome.

Two-fifty: Fox News got its usual 10 or so minutes of stage time, with a special emphasis on the America 250 celebration.

“I know most in this room would agree, there is nothing that delivers the scale of live sports. Or, is there?” Jeff Collins, president of ad sales, marketing, and brand partnerships, said. “Last year, Fox News, remarkably, had more total viewing time than the four largest pro sports leagues combined, and commanded almost half of all broadcast and cable news viewership.”

Collins also discussed ad performance and measurement, a topic of particular interest to buyers this year, comparing his team’s “relentless focus on the fundamentals, growing audiences, delivering your deals in full, [and] driving the reach, engagement, and performance that’s foundational to your brand’s success” to Brady’s approach to winning on the football field.

Brady had a big presence on Fox’s stage this year, though the audience was safe from his passing…unlike last year.