Fox News is attracting new viewers, including many Democrats, says Fox CFO Steve Tomsic

While Fox News ratings have declined since Election Day, Fox Corp. CFO Steve Tomsic said the network is attracting many new viewers, including some registered Democrats.

Comparing the election to the Super Bowl, Tomsic said a decline from that peak is to be expected. Despite the downturn, Tomsic said during an appearance at the UBS Media and Communications Conference in New York, the news channel has “maintained or increased” its market share every day.

Tomsic said the company evaluates Fox News based on its overall share of cable news programming. So far in 2024, their share is in the mid-50s percent range. In November it was 62% and even reached 70% at times in this crucial month.

When asked by presenter and UBS media analyst John Hodulik whether the strong performance was due to viewer retention or attracting new viewers, Tomic replied: “There is no doubt that we are attracting new viewers.” While the right-wingers make up the core, continued the executive: “People think it’s just the conservative audience in the US – that’s not the case. “We’re winning over our fair share of Democrats.”

Tomsic touched on a range of topics during the 35-minute session, including Tubi’s growth, the sports rights landscape and current strategic priorities in the online betting market.

Two major topics were Comcast’s pending spinoff of some of its cable networks into a new standalone company; and contingency plans in light of the stalled launch of streaming joint venture Venu Sports. In the latter case, the pay-TV operator has sued Fox, Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery on antitrust grounds, and a federal judge has granted a request for a preliminary injunction. An appeal against the injunction that prevented Venu’s planned launch last summer is expected to reach a resolution in early 2025, Tomsic noted.

When asked what Fox’s plans are for not launching Venu, Tomsic said Fox will continue to find ways to “attack people outside the bunch,” a population of tens of millions. “Our participation in Venu is a signal of how we view our ability to do business outside the package,” he said. “Pricing needs to be consistent and complementary to what we do in our wholesale business…What we don’t want to do is create another ‘me too’ deal. We want to be something different.”

Tomsic credited YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV for gaining traction with their Internet-delivered packages, but said Fox was unlikely to emulate their pricing or commitment to linear networks. The company’s potential entry “would be the best of linear and digital services,” he said. Despite speculation about non-Venu opportunities to enter subscription streaming (a market Fox has famously avoided), Tomsic reiterated the company’s belief in “the power of the package.” It is the way consumers want to consume programs.

Spinning off the cable network from Comcast “doesn’t change much for us,” Tomsic said. Since Fox has been in existence since the $71.3 billion deal with Disney that resulted in two-thirds of 21st Century Fox, including many cable channels, exiting the company, Tomsic said the company has focused on news and sports Specialized in cable and at the same time focused on broadcast television.

When asked about sports rights, Tomsic said the company currently spends about 40% of its expenses on this item. Regarding the sports portfolio, he said: “We feel pretty complete, but we’re looking at everything.”