It was two years ago today when FOX launched its own national, sports-branded networks in FOX Sports 1 and 2. As the platforms prepares for their junior year, the company is hitting all cylinders coming off its broadcasts of the Summer of Soccer, anchored by the Women’s World Cup, as well as the US Open, among other events. These sports have pushed FOX Sports 1 viewership up 40% in total day and 38% in primetime, according to Nielsen. Meanwhile, FS1’s reach has swelled 11% with an additional 9.2 million viewers in year two, to hit the 96 million mark.
Moving forward, the company is preparing for the next stage of its evolution. Gone are names such as Regis Philbin, and taking control are the recent hires of Jamie Horowitz to President, FOX Sports National Networks and Charlie Dixon as Executive Vice President of Content for FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2. With early deals now in full swing and on the air, including the MLB Division and League Championship Series games, NASCAR, and more, the company has also reeled in former ESPN staple Colin Cowherd to go along with its recent acquisitions of Bundesliga soccer, NHRA and the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show and a growing digital front.
FOX Sports 1 top five broadcasts of all time:
Date/Broadcast/Viewers P2+
10/15/2014 NLCS Game 4 5,092,000
10/16/2014 NLCS Game 5 4,891,000
06/22/2015 WWC Round of 16: USA/Colombia 4,716,000
10/12/2014 NLCS Game 2 4,367,000
03/29/2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup: Martinsville 4,061,000
Cynopsis Sports spoke with Eric Shanks, President, COO & Executive Producer, FOX Sports, about the anniversary, recent moves and what to expect from the company over the next two years.
Shanks on the state of the union: Going into it, is was clear that consolidating the brands and making FOX Networks Group a stronger piece of branded entertainment was going to take some time. Now that we are taking stock at the end of our second year, there is clear momentum not only in those new businesses, but in the broadcast business and the regional sports business as well. We feel like we’ve just barely stepped into the batter’s box and the momentum is something that feels good going into the third year.
On momentum: We’ve clearly made the investment in quality, premium, live events and really it was this year where all of these events were really on the air. This momentum carried forward not only by the addition of our new events, but if you look at pretty much every metric of our returning second year rights, there was higher consumption across the board for our other properties as well. I think it’s a bit of not only having the events, but also the familiarity with the new product and where it is, even something as simple as now knowing the channel numbers now.
On evolving: I think the most energizing thing that any company can do is keep energizing the culture. We’ve added some new blood to the team and I think that’s going to help the product that Jamie and Charlie are working on for FOX Sports 1 and 2 as well as everything else that we do. I think having new blood is something to look forward to, from a creative aspect, from a competition aspect, and we are now as energized here looking into year three as we were when we launched.
On hiring Horowitz: I think it is all about relationships. When you get to know someone and you have shared goals and a shared vision, you realize that the talent level and really the attitude that somebody brings to the job, it turned out to be a great fit. Jamie and his team are going to add a new gear to this place, something that we are all really looking forward to in year three. Jamie was able to bring Colin into the fold and we were able to create programming around him. Colin is a new voice for us and I think it is going to add a unique component into the programming mix.
On hiring Colin Cowherd: People watch television to be entertained and informed, sometimes not necessarily in that order. Colin is a clever, unique voice that gets people talking. In the world of sports, where everybody, because of the tribal nature of it, is defending or promoting their particular point of view, voice like Colin’s stand out.
On new acquisitions: One of the things when we started FOX Sports 1 and 2, was that combining all of our seasonal channels, was that it was important to deliver that constant, total-day sports destination. NHRA, for example, fit into our schedule really well and delivers high-volume quality content. The Westminster Dog Shows is one of those sneaky big events. It does great ratings. We are going to looking to get people attached to the competitors leading up to it, so that you don’t just dive into it for those few nights. We thought it fit really well and was a timeframe that works well for us.
On recent OTT headlines: When you have the flexibility to distribute content that you have and you have content that people want to watch, you can navigate the future and have options. I think this is a very consumer-friendly period that we are in. There is more access on more devices in more ways for more sports content available than ever before. What form OTT takes, whether it is a package of channels, a package of content still delivered by a distributor in the middle but via another means, or whether it is eventually going with special FOX only or Disney only packages direct to consumers, is yet to be seen. Today, clearly the best value for consumers is in the bundle and in the ongoing effort to give consumers more choice, I think you are going to see more packages out there.
