As the European Championship and Copa America finals approach, Fox is celebrating a successful summer, driven by a surge in soccer viewership. The network has seen a 57% increase in viewing across its entertainment and sports programming, totaling 18.5 billion minutes across platforms. Sports have been the primary driver, with a 66% growth, contributing 12.4 billion minutes. Entertainment content has also seen a significant boost, generating 6.1 billion minutes, a 42% increase from last summer.
Fox has been breaking records with its viewership for both the Euros and Copa America. All four semifinal matches have drawn impressive numbers for soccer on U.S. English-language television, even with the USMNT out of the competition. This heightened interest in soccer has translated into more viewers for the network’s entertainment programming as well.
Fox Entertainment CEO Rob Wade commented, “With audiences expecting year-round originals and sports, there’s no vacation in television. Getting Fox to the top spot are popular series like our new game shows The Quiz with Balls and The 1% Club, plus an outstanding lineup from our friends at Fox Sports. It’s great to see audiences beating the heat and enjoying our refreshing summer schedule.”
In the first five weeks of summer, Fox has ranked as No. 1 in entertainment programming among adults 18-49 with a 0.38 rating and adults 25-54 with a 0.54 rating after seven days of viewing. In primetime, the network has seen a 43% increase in adults 18-49, a significant boost. Among total viewers, Fox is up 40% year-over-year.
Fox’s new game shows, The 1% Club and The Quiz with Balls, have been particularly successful, each earning a 0.3 rating in the 18-49 demo after seven days of viewing. Other unscripted programming, such as WWE’s Smackdown, Masterchef: Generations, and Beat Shazam, have also contributed to Fox’s strong summer performance.
With the Copa America and Euros finals this weekend, there may be a slight dip in sports viewership. However, Fox is expected to maintain a strong audience through the summer, especially with WWE’s SummerSlam approaching in August. Smackdown is a consistent performer for Fox and generally sees a boost in viewership around major WWE events.
It remains to be seen how the game shows and additional unscripted content will continue to perform as Fox heads into the fall broadcast season and football season.
Fox’s soccer coverage has been a standout, with the USMNT’s victory over Bolivia in the Copa America group stage drawing 3.2 million viewers. This match was the network’s most-watched non-World Cup telecast ever and the most-watched English-language Copa America telecast in the U.S. The audience was up 110% from the 2016 average audience of 1.5 million for the USMNT’s group stage Copa America telecasts on FS1.
The UEFA European Championship has also been a strong performer. Belgium’s match against Romania was the most-watched English-language Euro Group Stage telecast in the U.S. since 2012, with 1.9 million viewers. This marks a 49% increase from the 2021 Euro Group Stage early afternoon weekend match average of around 1.3 million. Other matches, such as Portugal-Türkiye and Switzerland-Germany, also drew about 1.8 million viewers each, significantly up from their respective comparable 2021 matches. Uruguay’s match against Panama in Copa America was watched by 1.2 million viewers, another strong audience for Fox.
Fox’s summer success is a testament to the network’s ability to attract and retain viewers with a mix of sports and entertainment programming. As the network looks ahead to the fall season, it will be interesting to see how it continues to leverage its strong summer performance to maintain its position at the top.
Source: Deadline, The Daily Beast
