Sat 15 August 2020:
Rupert Murdoch’s Fox Corp said Tuesday it was launching a stand-alone streaming service for its news and business channels that would be available in 20 countries by year’s end.
The company said the new direct-to-consumer service will cost $6.99 per month and debut August 20 in Mexico, followed by Spain, Germany and the United Kingdom on September 17. The service should be available in 20 countries by the end of 2020.
“We are excited to debut Fox News International, enabling our devoted audience overseas access to their trusted source for news and insightful analysis,” said Suzanne Scott, Fox News Media’s CEO, in a prepared statement.
“With a catalog of more than 20 signature programs on-demand and live streams of our linear networks, this new digital streaming service will ensure our viewers around the world never miss out on the latest from America’s leading news channel.”
Fox News has had a smaller presence overseas since 2017, when its parent company pulled the flagship news channel from the United Kingdom, citing a less-than-robust audience. At the time, the company, then known as 21st Century Fox, was working to secure control of the Sky satellite business, and was under intense scrutiny from British regulators. Comcast eventually won oversight of the company.
But Fox makes its play as rivals are facing headwinds in their overseas efforts. Comcast recently decided to shelve plans for an international news service focused on English speaking audiences overseas, and CNN has scaled back some of the original programming it shows on its international outlets.
Other big media outlets have recently discussed plans to launch in foreign markets. Walt Disney Co., in a call with investors last week, described plans to launch “Star,” a general-entertainment subscription-video outlet in various parts around the globe. ViacomCBS is also at work on a similar project, targeting 2021 for the debut of a service slated to roll out in Australia, Latin America and the Nordics.
