I was fascinated to hear Fox Networks Group Chairman and CEO Peter Rice describe Fox’s deal with Sling TV as “replacement” product for the cable bundle. The deal places four Fox brands (Fox broadcasting, FX, National Geographic and Fox Sports) on a Sling-branded OTT network for $20 per month. “It is revenue neutral for us,” Rice said on a panel during the CAA World Congress of Sports’ opening morning. “If someone chooses to be a Dish customer or a Sling customer, it’s revenue neutral. It puts consumers first.”
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RICE
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Rice’s remarks are a stark change for programming networks, which have fought hard to keep the cable bundle intact. Until now, channel executives typically have looked at over-the-top services as complementary — a way to attract cord cutters. But now Fox has decided to pitch its “Fox bundle” — with Fox’s relevant programming from sports to entertainment — instead of the “cable bundle.”
“We spent a lot of time looking at our business and figuring out what is important to our customers,” Rice said. “We choose to sell those brands as a group. For the sports that everyone’s carrying, the access and the ability to watch things, on one level, is a challenge, but it’s also a boon. The amount of engagement viewing that people have — we’ve never seen that.”
Also on the panel, Fox Networks Group President and COO Randy Freer sounded a similar theme. “I don’t think you can be in a world where your first step is to always protect what you have.”
