Despite Derek Jeter using his Bob Sheppard Yankee Stadium batting intro, the company touting its broadcast rights to the 2026 World Cup, and Tom Brady hitting a random audience member with an errant throw from stage, sports were a surprisingly modest portion of the 2025 Fox upfront.
The company spent this year’s presentation in New York’s Manhattan Center, focusing on the strength and focus of its multi-pronged approach. The program hustled through MLB on Fox commentator Jeter’s introduction; Beat Shazam host Jamie Foxx’s soft-music issues, and “Love the Teslers” impression of President Donald Trump; and a segment with Fox News Outnumbered host Harris Faulkner, Celebrity Weakest Link host Jane Lynch, and NFL on Fox reporter Rob Gronkowski—whose quip about former coach Bill Belichick’s girlfriend not existing when the Fox network launched in 1986 drew mixed reactions from those assembled—to reach the relatively passionate case to buyers made by Jeff Collins, Fox president of advertising sales, marketing, and brand partnerships.
Collins hammered home the 26% growth in viewing time over all Fox properties during the last year amid declines around this industry, and cited EDO data telling buyers it would take 75 seconds of ad time anywhere else to equal the impact of 30 seconds of advertising on Fox. Roughly a quarter of those Fox ads air during programs with audiences of 1 million viewers or greater.
After launching its OneFox converged media platform—an AdRise-powered tool that brings AI-driven media planning, optimization, predictive models, and insights across its portfolio—just before the upfront, Collins assured brands and buyers in the audience that Fox has tailored its offerings to meet their needs.
The presentation had plenty of sports—including Fox’s NFL doubleheaders, Major League Baseball personalities, World Cup audiences, and a big push for its newly acquired rights to the Indianapolis 500—but delving into the success of Tubi, and the potential of Fox News during the year ahead gave Fox a few more legs to stand on.
“Because we’ve assembled only the best assets, the most essential properties for your media plan, and nothing else,” Collins said. ”We combined two ends of the media spectrum: Big, broad reach from the largest live audiences on one end, and granular targeting of the elusive cord-cutters and cord-nevers on the other. Together, these make up a complete offering that’s foundational to your media plan—everything you need and nothing you don’t.”
