Los Angeles Times

Fox News launches ‘Fox Nation’ as news networks try to catch the streaming wave

By Stephen Battaglio

Nov 26, 2018 | 4:10 PM

Pro wrestler Tyrus and former ESPN correspondent Britt McHenry are among the new hosts on the new Fox Nation streaming service. (Fox News)

Whenever longtime Fox News executive John Finley walks through an airport in Dallas carrying a bag emblazoned with his company’s logo, strangers who are viewers of the cable channel come up to him and say, “Thank you.”

The words are less kind when he’s in politically liberal strongholds such as New York or Beverly Hills. But Finley believes the devotion to the conservative-leaning cable news channel in red states is deep enough that fans will shell out an extra $5.99 a month for an over-the-top streaming channel with Fox programming.

The service from Fox News, called Fox Nation, debuts Tuesday. It offers commentary programs, specialty shows and documentaries that feature familiar personalities including Sean Hannity, Brian Kilmeade, Steve Doocy, Laura Ingraham and Dana Perino.

The one element of Fox News that Fox Nation won’t have is live news — at least not yet. The advertising tagline for the service is “Opinion done right,” a play for the audience tuning in to the channel for conservative viewpoints. “It’s not a news product in the traditional sense of the word,” said Finley, senior vice president of development and production for Fox News.

Fox Nation is part of a movement by the major players in the TV news business targeting the growing number of viewers gravitating to streaming video and bypassing traditional pay-TV subscriptions. NBC News — which operates cable channel MSNBC — is launching a free over-the-top ad-supported streaming service next year and is already testing programming for it on NBCNews.com. CNN is also studying concepts for a direct-to-consumer streaming service but has not announced any launch plans.

Audiences for cable news tend to be older than the streaming crowd — the median age for MSNBC’s prime-time viewers is 67, followed by 66 for Fox News and 61 for CNN, according to Nielsen data. But the channels need to get their brand names in front of the younger consumers who are growing up without the pay-TV habit. In the current 2018-19 TV season, prime-time cable and broadcast TV usage has declined year-to-year by 15% among viewers ages 18 to 34, according to Nielsen.