Fox TV will begin live streaming its prime time entertainment programming nationwide, the network announced Monday. The initiative will make Fox the first broadcaster to simulcast its prime time programming on its own digital platforms in all 210 television markets nationwide.
Entertainment programs will be available for authenticated pay-TV subscribers to view live on via Fox.com and Fox Now for iPhone, iPad, Android, Kindle Fire, Apple TV and Google Chromecast. The first live stream will be available Monday night with the 8 p.m. broadcast of “So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation.”
Sports programming will not be included in the live-streaming initiative. Live-stream viewing will not be included in Nielsen ratings for Fox programming, but will be part of multi-platform viewing data collected by Fox. Although ad loads will be the same for show live streamed, the ads themselves will be different from those featured on television.
“From the start of the on-demand and over-the-top viewing revolution, FOX has been at the forefront of providing greater access to our buzz-defining shows, like “Empire,” “Lucifer, “Scream Queens” and “Family Guy,” said Dana Walden and Gary Newman, chairmen and CEOs of Fox Television Group. “Adding nationwide primetime live streams is just another great example of how the Fox Digital Consumer Group, under Brian Sullivan’s leadership, is innovating to give viewers the convenience and flexibility to watch our programming whenever and wherever they want.”
