Fox News Streaming Service Seeks Broader Audience With Hunting and True-Crime Shows
Expansion into country music and fishing reflects an effort to go beyond politics.
(Bloomberg) -- Since its early days, Fox News’ streaming service has featured a steady diet of conservative politics. The network’s opinion stars, including Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham, appear on the platform. Other shows revisit hot-button topics for the channel’s loyal audience: the 2012 attacks in Benghazi, the historical investigations of President Bill Clinton, and “the Russia Hoax.”
Now, more than a year after launching the streaming product, company executives are trying to broaden the audience. They’re testing additional genres — from outdoor activities to music — with the goal of attracting more subscribers to the service, called Fox Nation.
John Finley, the Fox News executive who runs the subscription service, said it has seen success in programming that has little to do with politics — so long as it has “the same sort of Fox values appealing to Middle America.”
“It didn’t have to be about Donald Trump or politics or impeachment,” Finley said in an interview. “Once you’ve had your fill of that, Nation is offering you something different. And it could be crime or it could be history or travel.”
This spring, for the first time, Fox Nation will feature a month of shows dedicated to outdoor sports, with Fox talent and other celebrities going hunting and fishing. Fox Nation also plans to add more true-crime shows, including a new one this month hosted by Nancy Grace.
Finding the right streaming formula is a key test for Fox, even if it’s still early days. Fox Nation currently has 200,000 to 300,000 subscribers, according to research firm Parks Associates. (Compare that with the more than 3 million viewers that Hannity draws.) But the service is an opportunity to both find new customers and prepare for the future of TV.
Finley said Fox Nation might even delve into scripted shows, depending in part on the reception of “Deputy,” a drama about a righteous, well-chiseled sheriff doling out justice in a cowboy hat. The show airs on the Fox broadcast channel, but the first episode also was available on the streaming service.
Fox Nation, which costs $5.99 a month, is the only direct-to-consumer subscription video service owned by Fox Corp., which sold much of its entertainment assets to Walt Disney Co. last year. Finley declined to disclose how many subscribers Fox Nation has, but said he was happy with its growth so far.
In the midst of a heated presidential campaign, Fox Nation still caters to Fox News superfans. The app offers its subscribers a limited live feed of the cable channel, and this month, former CBS News correspondent Lara Logan debuted a new show in which she investigates immigration on the U.S. border with Mexico — a key issue for Fox News viewers. But Finley said that some of the most popular shows on Fox Nation during its first year didn’t focus on political subjects.
The successes include a crime show hosted by Mark Fuhrman, a former Los Angeles police detective who became famous during the O.J. Simpson trial; a history show, “What Made America Great,” in which “Fox & Friends” co-host Brian Kilmeade visits places like the Alamo, Fort McHenry and Mount Rushmore; and a travel show where Abby Hornacek tours national parks.
Country music has also found a home on the service. Over the holidays, Fox Nation aired an old Christmas special with Johnny Cash. Next month, country music star John Rich will debut a show on Fox Nation, where guests will “delve into their journey to achieving the American dream.”
“We’re trying new and different things,” Finley said. “I think I can widen the net and appeal to the traditional Fox News audience and find new viewers at the same time.”
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net, Felix Gillette
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