Fox One's Big Moment

**SPEAKER_1** (0:00)
The Grill Room is presented by BP. See all the ways BP is investing in America at bp.com/investinginamerica.

**Dylan Byers** (0:10)
This podcast is brought to you by Landman. As oil rises from the earth, so do the secrets. Billy Bob Thornton, Demi Moore, and Sam Elliott star in the explosive second season of Landman. One of the best TV shows of the year raves the rap. This season is better than ever, says Esquire.
From Taylor Sheridan, Landman continues its run as a cultural phenomenon. For your Emmy consideration in all categories, now streaming on Paramount+.

**Pete Distad** (0:41)
Nothing in media is easy and you have to get out there and you have to build a product and you have to build momentum. And then in the event that you build momentum and you build the right customer experience, therein the content writes and things start to fall into place.

**Dylan Byers** (0:56)
Hello, friends, and welcome back to The Grill Room. It is Tuesday, June 9th, and we are now 48 hours and change away from the greatest, not just the greatest sporting event, just the greatest event on planet Earth. The World Cup is my Roman Empire.
I love it. I have since I was a kid. I obsess about it. I know I'm breaking the fourth wall here. I'm telling you a little too much about myself, but it's true. I get really, really, really into this. I watch every single game that I can. I try to like order food that I can associate with one of the teams. I'm like, I'm diehard here, and I'm really excited for the next four or five weeks because I think they're going to be thrilling. Despite all of the politics and the drama around this World Cup happening in this time on US soil, I think this is going to be great. I think it's going to be good for the nation, good for the world.
If you want to watch it anywhere other than your local bar, and you don't have television, you're going to need a Fox One subscription. Because Fox, of course, has the English language rights to the World Cup this year, and they are seizing on that opportunity to really roll out Fox One, their streaming service, which officially launched some nine months ago. But this is really the launch. This is Peacock using the Olympics to try and draw in subscribers. This is their moment. And a big question is not only, how do you do that, but then how do you keep those people subscribing? Because that really is the existential challenge. You need those subscription dollars for more than five weeks.
Here to talk about all of that is Pete Distad, who is the head of Fox One and has a long and storied career as an operator in the streaming media space, who was part of the original team at Hulu. He spent a decade at Apple and was instrumental in their own sports strategy. And then for a very brief period of time, went on to run the short-lived JV called Venue, that JV between Disney, Fox and Warner Brothers Discovery, which did not quite pan out. We're going to talk about that too. But now he's heading Fox One. He has a ton of very interesting features that Fox One is using here to sort of draw fans in and enhance their World Cup experience.
And then we're going to talk about the sort of sports media ecosystem more broadly. What's working, what isn't, the consumer experience, the miles and miles that media companies have to go to improve the consumer experience. Just make it easier to find what it is you want to watch. So this is a great conversation, and I think it's going to get you excited, if you aren't already, for what's coming up in a few days. And without further ado, let's get started.
Pete Distad, welcome to The Grill Room. How are you?

**Pete Distad** (4:25)
I'm doing great, Dylan. How are you doing? Thanks for having me.

**Dylan Byers** (4:27)
I'm doing great primarily because I am a devout soccer fan, and above all else, I'm a devout World Cup fan. And we are on the precipice of the World Cup in North America, which is something I've spent my entire adult life waiting for.
What are your plans? I'm not asking what Fox's plans are, or Fox One's plans are, what are your plans for this World Cup?

**Pete Distad** (4:52)
Oh, my personal plans. Probably a little bit less exciting than if I were sitting on the other side of the table and not having to worry about everything going off without a hitch technically. But we're feeling pretty good, to be honest. We've been preparing for it for a long time. So, but I hope to make a match or two, but that will largely depend on how things are going.