Fox’s Super Bowl Shuffle

ProximitySports
Written By Tim Hanlon

Fox Television Network's decision to stream Super Bowl LIX for free on its Tubi platform last Sunday proved to be a landmark moment in the Big Game’s televised history. Viewership data released earlier this week revealed that Tubi's streaming 4K simulcast of the game attracted an average per-minute audience of 13.6 million viewers, contributing significantly to the record-breaking total of 127.7 million viewers registered across all platforms. This figure represents a 3% increase over last year's championship affair and makes Super Bowl LIX, collectively, the most-watched program in U.S. television history.

Streaming: A Consumer-Centric Triumph

The success of Tubi's Super Bowl stream underscores the growing consumer appetite for accessible, high-quality streaming options, especially for sports and other marquee live events. By offering the game for free on a platform that requires no subscription (though Tubi did require email registration, a savvy flex to create an instant viewer database), Fox not only catered to MVPD cord-cutters but also tapped into a younger and more diverse audience base, which is increasingly abandoning traditional linear cable and broadcast television altogether.

This achievement highlights the strategic value of Fox's acquisition of Tubi back in 2020, and its subsequent investment into transforming it into a viable and, arguably, now essential-ish free ad-supported streaming service (FAST). It also demonstrates the potential for streaming platforms to supplement — or even replace — traditional broadcasts by expanding reach and accessibility, especially in areas where over-the-air (OTA) broadcasts are limited or lack advanced features like 4K resolution.

Local Broadcasters: Shuffled Out?

Tubi’s success in streaming the Super Bowl was a clear win for consumers and a strategic boost for Fox’s growing digital ambitions. However, it also underscored a troubling trend for local broadcasters, particularly when it comes to retaining their traditional audiences for high-profile network events. The nearly 14 million viewers who opted to watch via Tubi represented a significant erosion of what was once an exclusively local linear TV audience, diminishing the reach and ad revenue potential of Fox’s owned-and-operated stations and its affiliated local broadcasters. For smaller network affiliates, which depend heavily on marquee events like the Super Bowl to drive outsize ratings and advertising revenue, such shifts threaten to accelerate financial headwinds already buffeting local TV operations.

As streaming platforms continue to gain traction for live sports and other major events, local stations risk becoming increasingly sidelined, further weakening their (increasingly precarious) position in an already challenging media landscape.

The record-breaking digital viewership numbers also suggest that streaming platforms like Tubi are no longer supplementary but are becoming central components in delivering the “full flavor” of major live events (NBC Sports & Peacock’s presentation of the 2024 Summer Olympics, for example). This trend could weaken the traditional symbiotic relationship between networks and local affiliates, as more viewers are enticed to bypass legacy linear channel infrastructure altogether.

Advertising: A Double-Edged Sword

Tubi’s “super” performance also portends a mixed bag of both opportunity and risk for advertisers, especially those seeking to target local or regional audiences. Compellingly, the platform allows for highly targeted advertising based on user data (those newly gleaned email addresses will especially come in handy), which is a significant advantage over traditional MVPD- and OTA antenna-delivered broadcasts, which offer none.

However, the fragmentation of audiences across multiple platforms — broadcast TV, cable, and now DTC streaming — complicates ad-buying strategies and will certainly dilute the impact of local or regional advertising campaigns tied to high-profile events like the Super Bowl.

A potential silver lining for local stations: although Tubi was praised for having significantly lower latency compared to other linearly delivered MVPD or streaming services during the Super Bowl, it still lagged behind OTA antenna broadcasts, which remain unmatched in terms of minimal delay. This latency issue continues to be a drawback for live sports streaming, particularly for marketing/promotional activities around enhancements like real-time betting, event-triggered commerce or social media engagement.

Local Broadcasting’s 4th-And-Long

The record-breaking success of Tubi’s Super Bowl stream solidifies its position as a cornerstone of Fox’s digital strategy. However, this milestone also amplifies the need for Fox to carefully balance — or more pointedly, incorporate — its streaming ambitions with/into its existing obligations to local broadcasters. While Tubi’s strong performance last Sunday enhances Fox’s standing in the streaming space, it also deepens concerns among local affiliates, who increasingly feel bypassed as networks continue to prioritize direct-to-consumer platforms — particularly in high-stakes live sports events like the Super Bowl and the Olympics. (NBC and Peacock, particularly, next February).

Super Bowl LIX’s record-breaking viewership highlights both the promise and the pitfalls of Fox’s push toward streaming via Tubi. While the strategy cements Fox’s position as a leader in adapting to shifting media habits, it also intensifies the broader industry tension between digital expansion and traditional broadcasting — a challenge facing all U.S. broadcast networks, not just Fox.

Moving forward, networks and their station partners must carefully manage this evolving landscape to maintain a mutually beneficial relationship. Tubi’s Super Bowl success reinforced the value of streaming as a powerful complement to traditional broadcast distribution, but if networks continue prioritizing direct-to-consumer platforms without integrating TV stations meaningfully, they risk eroding the value of local broadcasters, especially in delivering marquee events.

What’s required are innovative strategies that ensure local broadcasters remain essential partners in the distribution of premium content like the Super Bowl and the Olympics. Without thoughtful collaboration, stations could find themselves increasingly sidelined or bypassed, weakening the local ties that have long been a cornerstone of broadcast television’s reach and influence.

Tim Hanlon

Tim Hanlon is the Founder & CEO of the Chicago-based Vertere Group, LLC – a boutique strategic consulting and advisory firm focused on helping today’s most forward-leaning media companies, brands, entrepreneurs, and investors benefit from rapidly changing technological advances in marketing, media and consumer communications.

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