Fox Scores Upfront Ad Dollars in Tough Market. The Trick? Lots of Sports, Less Traditional Cable

Jun 18, 2026 9:00am PT Fox Scores Upfront Ad Dollars in Tough Market. The Trick? Lots of Sports, Less Traditional Cable

By Brian Steinberg

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Brian Steinberg

Senior TV Editor

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Efren S. Landaos/Variety/REX/Shu

The overall market is down, but Fox is up.

Despite Madison Avenue pressures on TV’s annual “upfront” ad-sales market and a projection that advertisers’ budgets will be tighter than in years past, Fox Corp. has scored more commitments for its sports, news and entertainment properties than last year, according to a person familiar with recent negotiations.

This person says Fox was able to nab a double-digit percentage increase in the volume of advertising tied to both Tubi and Fox News Channel, and “record” volume for sports and news, even as commercial buys tied to scripted entertainment on the Fox broadcast network were flat with last year’s totals. Overall, ad commitments to the broader Fox portfolio grew in the mid-single-digit percentage range, this person says.