FOX One Zooms Past ESPN Unlimited With 2+ Million Subscribers – Here’s Why

FOX One and the new ESPN app both debuted on Aug. 21, but analytics firm Antenna estimates FOX One finished October with 2.3 million subscribers, while only 1.7 million had signed up for ESPN Unlimited. That may seem surprising, but there are a few key reasons why FOX has the edge.

The Power of Amazon

We could point to the fact that ESPN Unlimited costs $10 more than FOX One. Or we could guess there are some cord-cutters who were dying for the cheapest possible way to watch Fox News Channel. But the real key to FOX One’s success is that it is available as a Prime Video channel, while ESPN is not.

Antenna estimates that a whopping 57% of FOX One’s subscribers signed up through Prime Video. It’s a versatile platform and it allows for a 7-day free trial. Services that allow their products to stream through Prime Video get an automatic advantage over those that don’t.

In contrast, 85% of ESPN’s new subscribers chose to sign up directly. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s less convenient than a streamer that makes itself widely available.

Just 27% of FOX One subscribers signed up to the platform directly.

Keen readers will note that if you combine ESPN’s streaming options (Unlimited and Select), that comes out to 3 million by the end of October. But those products are quite different. ESPN brass may be disappointed with those numbers, but the ESPN app isn’t the silver bullet sports solution most fans need. It may take more to peel them away from a full live TV streaming package.

Don’t Count Your Chickens

While Antenna’s numbers are helpful in understanding the early momentum of these services, things may have shifted dramatically since they were estimated.

Right after the window closed on this estimation, YouTube TV dropped ESPN from its lineup for two weeks. It’s likely that pushed some sports fans to sign up for ESPN Unlimited to keep watching.

With Fubo now having lost NBC and its affiliated channels, we may see more people giving up on the jumbo channel bundles offered by most providers. As people reevaluate their budgets and needs, we could see more people choosing ESPN Unlimited and/or FOX One over the less flexible live TV providers.

Another thing to keep in mind is the seasonality of both platforms. Fans may leave ESPN Unlimited when their favorite sport hits the offseason. It’s reasonable to expect a falloff after Monday Night Football comes to a close. FOX One is liable to see an uptick as we head into the 2026 midterm elections. We can probably expect a lot of ups and downs for both of these services unless they’re bundled with something more stable.

The benefit of the large channel bundles was that consumers rarely cut their entire TV package just because their favorite sport or TV show went on hiatus. There was always something to watch somewhere. But as media companies invest less in original linear programming, many of these networks have become zombie channels, showing endless reruns around the clock. As that happens, it seems downright negligent not to cancel when possible.

Every smart cord-cutter should reassess their streaming subscriptions each month. With services like ESPN and FOX One, it’s unlikely you would need them all year. These services are counting on your laziness to stay subscribed. Don’t let them take your money if you’re not watching.