Fox Posts 22% Revenue Jump on World Cup and Record $350M Political Ads

Fox Corp. grew total quarterly revenue 22% year over year to $4.57 billion, propelled by the FIFA World Cup 2026, record midterm political advertising and continued growth at Tubi, the company reported in its fiscal first-quarter 2027 earnings.

Advertising revenue rose 47%, driven by the final stages of the World Cup, political ad spend ahead of the midterm elections and Tubi's expansion. Political advertising alone surpassed $350 million across the business this cycle — a record for a midterm, according to executive chair and CEO Lachlan Murdoch, with most of that revenue coming from Fox's owned-and-operated stations.

What carried the quarter?

The July-to-September window bracketed two major sporting events: the final rounds of the FIFA World Cup 2026 and the start of the 2026-'27 NFL season. The World Cup final between Spain and Argentina delivered Fox Sports its most-watched soccer telecast in U.S. history.

Murdoch said the World Cup, the start of MLB postseason and the opening of the NFL and college football seasons "have boosted views and engagement" at the network.

Tubi also benefited from targeted campaign spending. Murdoch said campaigns recognized the streaming platform's "large, mostly cordless audience."

How did Murdoch address Fox News ratings?

Speaking ahead of the midterm vote, Murdoch touted Fox News' viewership strength against rivals but acknowledged recent ratings struggles, calling the comparison to the previous year difficult. He attributed the softness to viewer fatigue.

"As you would expect, audiences have turned to Fox for our comprehensive coverage of this election cycle, with national coverage led by the Fox News team while our broadcast stations provide essential local perspective, particularly in many battleground states. Heading into tomorrow's vote, more Americans have relied on Fox News than any other news network for coverage of the key issues and news this cycle," Murdoch said.

He noted Fox has seen this pattern before, citing a similar trend during the 2006 midterm elections, and expressed confidence the network would overcome it. He added that viewers are not defecting to MS NOW or CNN — they are simply tuning out.

What does this change for Fox's streaming business?

Fox One, the streaming service launched in 2025, has "hit it out of the park," Murdoch said. Subscriber acquisitions in September ran 30% ahead of where they stood at the start of the 2025 football season. Murdoch highlighted that 97% of Fox One subscribers do not have a cable subscription, calling that a tremendous result — evidence the platform reaches cordless households rather than cannibalizing pay-TV customers.

On future sports rights, including the 2030 and 2034 World Cup tournaments, Murdoch said Fox will approach those negotiations in a disciplined manner, consistent with all of its sports rights acquisitions.

Murdoch declined to give further detail on Fox's deal to purchase Roku, saying it is going through the appropriate regulatory process and that the company hopes to close the transaction as soon as it can.

With election-night audiences concentrated on Fox and Fox One's cordless base compounding, Murdoch's next test is whether the post-election viewer fatigue he predicted mirrors 2006 — or dissipates faster.