Just hours after she performed a song-and-dance number on NBC’s Upfront (as “30 Rock” character Jenna Maroney), “Celebrity Name That Tune” host Jane Krakowski performed another song-and-dance number on Fox’s Upfront. This time, Jane’s fellow host Jane Lynch of “Celebrity Weekest Link” appeared.
Next up was Tom Brady. He first appeared on stage with a damaged microphone, but it was quickly fixed.
“As you may have heard, I had some success in my old job. I won’t bore you with the details, but let’s just say it worked,” the former NFL superstar turned Fox Sports personality said before introducing Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch.
Murdoch then told Fox: “We’re not trying to do everything, and we’re not chasing scale for scale’s sake. Instead, we’re focused on what matters most: live sports, live news, bold entertainment and ad-supported streaming.” “As we said at the beginning of last year, Fox continues to be an outlier in the market. In fact, Fox is the only major media company to consistently grow its audience three years in a row. This is a direct result of our disciplined strategy and our relentless focus on building true fandom around content that our viewers truly connect with.”
Mr. Murdoch handed over to ad sales chief Jeff Collins, who continued his pitch before Melody Hildebrandt, Fox’s chief technology officer, continued the unsteady conversation. Additionally, new features such as AI Colin Cowherd provided sports experts for users’ questions.
Tubi CEO Anjali Sud presented an update on the free, ad-supported streamer, touting it as the #1 completely free, ad-supported streamer with 100 million monthly active users watching more than 10 billion hours annually, according to Nielsen. “Contrary to what you might expect, these viewers are high-value viewers. Tubi ranks fourth in reaching high-income, ad-supported viewers, ahead of Disney+ and Paramount,” she said. “Tubi is one of the largest platforms in America when it comes to total ad-supported reach, surpassing other streamers like Netflix and Peacock, and surpassing all broadcast and cable in terms of hours watched.”
Thad also highlighted Tubi’s increased focus on original programming, including a new series to coincide with this year’s World Cup hosted by New York Giants quarterback Jameis Winston and former NFL player Rob Gronkowski. Dubbed “Another Football,” the two discuss questions such as, as Gronk wondered, “Why isn’t the World Cup a Cup?” Gronk finished his corner by sending a soccer ball flying off the stage, continuing Fox’s long-standing tradition of sports stars and hosts tossing balls into the crowd.
On the script side, Jerry O’Connell, Violet McGraw and Sophia Bush appeared to promote the Tubi YA feature “Summer’s Last Resort.”
Of course, “Baywatch” led the Fox Entertainment segment, with the cast of the revival led by Stephen Amell taking to the stage (but not in swimsuits). “‘Baywatch’ is the quintessential Southern California escapade,” Amell said. “We’ve been busy filming on the famous Venice Beach, so we’ll be back on set tomorrow.”
The first trailer for the return of Baywatch has been released. It was filmed in slow motion as lifeguards grabbed paddleboards and jumped into the ocean in an attempt to save lives. (Yes, these shots elicited knowing laughter from media buyers in the audience.)
“Can you imagine the budget for waxing and hair removal?” “Animal Control” star Joel McHale said as he joined “Grimsburg” creator and star Jon Hamm on stage.
“It’s more like ‘Babewatch,'” Hamm said. “Thank you. I’ve never joked like that before.”
Later, the cast of Fox’s “Best Medicine,” “Memories of a Murderer” and “Doc” appeared to promote the network’s hour-long program. Jenna Elfman, star of Stephen Fry and Fox’s new drama The Interrogator, followed.
Frye then introduced fellow Brit Gordon Ramsay and “real American idiot” “Fear Factor” host Johnny Knoxville. “It’s great to be here with the GOAT, a world-renowned 17-star Michelin chef and one of the world’s biggest influencers. It’s great to be able to spend most of the network’s prime time together,” Knoxville said.
Ramsay responded by saying, “’Fear Factor’ had 17 million views when it first premiered.” “Come on, are you sane? Then I can tell you that people love to watch other people do stupid things.”
Maybe it was appropriate for Ramsay and Knoxville to comment on a pretty bad eating scene in “Fear Factor.” And that was followed by a segment on Fox News Media.
FOX News anchors Bret Baier and Martha McCallum appeared to represent the news side of the brand. Baier and McCollum pointed out that Fox News is currently pulling down broadcast-level ratings, with Baier claiming that “The Five” is outperforming “CBS Evening News” and “The Voice.” McCallum said Fox News is “averaging 3.1 million viewers in prime weekdays, which is more than even NBC. That’s a big deal.”
“The Five” hosts Greg Gutfeld, Jessica Tarloff and Harold Ford Jr. then appeared, and “Fox & Friends” star Lawrence Jones delivered his pitch on Fox News Channel’s America 250 coverage.
Now that it’s finally here, one thing Fox wants advertisers to pay special attention to is the Fox Sports roster, which includes coverage of this year’s World Cup. Fox Sports commentator Michael Strahan introduced the sports corner and said that, like the members of “The Other Football,” Strahan took the stage to talk about this football, not the one he’s famous for.
“Trust me, this tournament is going to be what everyone is talking about all summer, and that includes me,” Strahan said. “This is the first World Cup in the United States in 30 years, and it’s a long time coming. There will be more teams and games than ever before. All 104 games will be live-streamed in 4K, so we expect more than 15 million fans to watch each game in the United States.”
Strahan then announced the news by bringing on former talk show host James Corden to host “After Hours with James Corden” late at night after the World Cup game.
“It’s me, former England soccer captain Rio Ferdinand, and one of my favorite comedians on the planet, Ian Carmel,” Corden said. “Every night after the game, we’re going to just casually watch the World Cup and talk about the game and talk about anything that might have happened that day. And what we’re trying to do is make it feel like even if we can’t meet up with our friends at the bar that night, we’re there and we’re going to have a good time.”
Why Fox? “Because they have the right to the game,” he told Strahan. “I can’t stress this enough. If they didn’t have the rights to the game, I’m doing this show on the network that did have the rights. I think the agreement with them is very similar. It’s weird to come out on Sunday and talk about football and say, ‘We’ll do it over there.’
When it comes to baseball, Fox Sports has produced three of its biggest stars: David Jeter, David Ortiz and Alex Rodriguez. So Ortiz asked if the Dodgers’ Ohtani could win a third straight championship. “That’s my dog,” he said. Jeter and Rodriguez were silent.
Brady and Gronkowski left to talk football with Erin Andrews. The trio announced the Fox Sports Thanksgiving game, Philadelphia Eagles vs. Dallas Cowboys. The college basketball season will begin on November 1st in Rome with Notre Dame taking on Villanova.
“Do you know if any Villanova alumni will be attending? Pope Leo!!” Andrews said. Gronk joked, but there was limited laughter from the audience. “I mean, I feel sorry for the guy who has to wear a big hat and sit behind the Pope.”
Brady then closed the show with dancers in the opening number featuring Krakowski and Lynch.
