Pros
Expansive entry to sports activities video games of all kinds
Immersive expertise for sports activities followers, with sports activities, stats and evaluation
Many methods to personalize feed
Unlimited DVR
Cons
Difficult accessibility options
User expertise inconsistent throughout units
Limited entry to primetime exhibits
No authentic content material
Fox One, Fox Corporation’s first-ever direct-to-consumer streaming service, launched on Aug. 21 — the identical day ESPN launched its personal. Fox’s complete channel portfolio, which incorporates Fox News Channel, Fox Nation, Fox Sports, B1G, FS1, FS2, native Fox stations and the Fox Network, might be discovered right here for $20 a month. What makes Fox One interesting, or at the very least of curiosity, is its concentrate on stay sports activities and information programming. This is a horny characteristic for purchasers, and, should you go searching, you will discover a rising variety of streamers vying for a bit of the stay TV pie. Outside of stay TV, information and sports activities, Fox One’s library contains an array of on-demand programming and a choice of Fox’s primetime hit exhibits like The Simpsons and Hell’s Kitchen. Though the platform combines the performance of an on-demand streamer with a cable-like expertise, there are some limitations. Is this sufficient to make Fox One a viable choice in a streaming panorama crowded with premium platforms, competitively priced bundles and FAST companies and channels?Fox One looks like a superb match should you’re a fan of Fox and wish anytime entry to its stay programming library. To that time, although, there are different streaming companies providing way more content material (and worth) that make it tough to justify the streamer’s $20 price ticket. Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content material and lab-based evaluations. Add CNET as a most well-liked Google supply.What is Fox One and the way a lot does it price?After the demise of Venu, the joint sports activities streaming enterprise from ESPN, Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox, the media corporations concerned pivoted to their very own different streaming tasks. This previous May, Fox introduced the identify of its app, Fox One, and launched the platform in August, with an emphasis on stay programming. Targeted towards cord-cutters and Fox’s information and sports activities viewers, the streaming app options area of interest content material. Fox One has two predominant subscription tiers, relying on the kind of programming you are keen on watching. It’s accessible to pay TV clients (eg. cable and satellite tv for pc) at no additional price, and subsequent month, the streaming service shall be a part of a bundle with Disney’s ESPN. The firm plans to companion up and supply extra bundling choices sooner or later.The primary Fox One plan prices $20 a month, or $200 yearly, and supplies a mixture of stay sports activities, information and leisure content material from throughout the Fox portfolio. The Fox One-Fox Nation tier prices $5 extra at $25 a month and options all the pieces the fundamental Fox One plan has, together with full entry to Fox News and Fox Nation. Both plans supply a seven-day free trial and a limiteless DVR, and should you get Fox by a cable or satellite tv for pc TV subscription, you possibly can entry Fox One without spending a dime.When you go to the positioning, you possibly can select to join certainly one of Fox’s standalone streaming subscriptions to Fox Nation or B1G Plus. Each of those platforms has been round for a number of years now, with Fox Nation priced at $9 a month or $71 yearly (additionally, with a seven-day free trial), and B1G Plus costing $13 a month or $90 yearly. Bear in thoughts these companies are separate from Fox One, however clients can conveniently enroll in a single place.What’s it like like to make use of? The Fox One homepage on my sensible TV exhibits the menu choices on the left facet of the display. Screenshot by Aaron Pruner/CNETFor over per week, I examined the Fox One app on a number of units. The design and person expertise are fairly customary, and navigating by the app is easy sufficient. The house menus will seem in several positions, relying on the system you’re utilizing. On the net, you will discover the primary buttons on the high of the display for Home, Live, Sports, News, Shows and My Stuff. There are additionally community hub buttons on the house web page that will help you simply navigate to content material for Fox, FS1, FS2, Fox News, Fox Weather, Fox Deportes, Fox Business and B1G Network. The menu headers seem on the left facet of the display when the app is used on a Roku Stick and my Samsung Smart TV. When utilizing the app on my Samsung Galaxy S25, I discovered the menu on the backside of the display, which additionally included a range for Shorts — a bit that includes short-form vertical TikTok-style video clips highlighting moments from information programming and sports activities.The stay programming choices have been the primary tiles I noticed when scrolling by the house web page, adopted by a row devoted to approaching information and sports-themed exhibits. There are additionally rows for networks, groups, and personalities — listed as Fox Voices — which you’ll click on to comply with to additional customise your viewing expertise.The viewer expertise turns into extra private to you the extra you work together with the platform.During playback, watching stay and on-demand programming labored as anticipated, providing crisp video high quality and strong streaming. Clicking on the rewind or fast-forward button on my TV strikes the progress of the video in brief increments. The identical performance exists on the internet, however you can too merely use the mouse to pull the progress bar anyplace within the video, which I discovered extra intuitive.Recording a program to the DVR is finest when utilizing the cellular app, the sensible TV app or one thing like a Roku or Amazon Fire TV. Any present I clicked on had an Add to My Stuff button, which does precisely that. I tried to do the identical factor when logged into the web site however was solely capable of document future programming by the stay information.The service permits customers to look at a sporting occasion or information present stay within the second, with the choice to start out from the start. If you are seeking to make amends for the most recent sport and haven’t got the time to sit down by a number of hours, the service provides rows the place you possibly can view condensed video games, shorter recaps, clips and evaluation. Fox One’s multiview characteristic, as seen on my Roku system. Screenshot by Aaron Pruner/CNETThe multiview perform has its personal devoted row for watching a number of stay packages without delay. Fox News and Fox Business are grouped collectively, as are Fox News, Fox Business and Fox Weather, FS1 and BTN and FS1 and Fox News. This perform works as anticipated and performs the feeds side-by-side in actual time with the audio from no matter program you spotlight.This is likely one of the options I used to be actually wanting ahead to utilizing. However I found that it could solely be discovered utilizing TV OS, Amazon Fire TV or Roku, the final of which I do have. Fox informed CNET that extra units will assist the characteristic sooner or later.Selecting the information pulls up a stay programming schedule that options restricted channels. You can’t take away them solely or customise the order through which they seem. That mentioned, you possibly can browse upcoming scheduled exhibits by date as much as 14 days forward of time.When you click on on a present that hasn’t aired but, you possibly can add it to My Stuff and the app will robotically document it for you. If you select a sport from the information, you’ll add it to My Stuff, however the service may also offer you a listing of choices that’ll can help you comply with the league and the groups going head-to-head, which is able to immediate Fox One to document all programming related to each.As I acknowledged beforehand, I used the app for a couple of week, so I did not spend intensive time testing the DVR. It labored as anticipated, and should you’re involved about lacking any exhibits, you possibly can document as much as 14 days prematurely. Fox One’s vertical stay information on cellular. Screenshot by Aaron Pruner/CNETDesign-wise, I observed on my TV that the thumbnail artwork and episode descriptions inside a present’s season overlapped, making it unattainable to learn. This did not occur with each title I clicked on, so I’m assuming this is a matter that’s being ironed out. That mentioned, ideas for related programming got here up cluttered with a hodgepodge of exhibits that had no similarities to the present I used to be watching in any respect.Advertisements; you possibly can’t get away from them. They’re right here, however the advert load, as I skilled it, was lighter than what I’ve turn out to be used to when watching Hulu and even WWE Raw on Netflix. Since we’re nonetheless within the early days of the app, I’ve a sense this can change. One extra notice concerning the adverts: While I did expertise advert breaks throughout the stay information exhibits and stay sports activities I clicked play on, there have been no commercials interrupting the recap movies and clips.Fox One’s accessibility settings are slim, and once I tinkered with closed captioning, I discovered the characteristic tough to entry and the expertise was inconsistent throughout units. On my TV, I used to be met with a QR code that directed me to a web site that gave a assist e-mail tackle to contact. The identical factor occurred when utilizing my Android cellular system. Fox suggested that iPhone customers are capable of change these settings.Since I haven’t got an iPhone, although, the one manner I may edit the type, look and placement of the captions was by the Fox One web site. Instead of underneath my Account, I discovered the small CC icon on the backside proper nook of the video participant itself. The closed captioning settings menu, because it seems on Fox One’s web-based app. Screenshot by Aaron Pruner/CNETA tiny gear seems subsequent to the CC icon, solely when it is turned on. Clicking that reveals a pop-up menu the place modifications might be made to font measurement, font type, font household, font colour, font opacity, character edge, character edge colour, background colour, background opacity, window colour and window opacity.After altering issues like measurement, colour and magnificence, the captions nonetheless different in look, relying on the programming I used to be viewing and what system I used to be utilizing. What content material is and is not on Fox One?Don’t count on a deep library of Fox exhibits. Fox One’s library is not gentle, nevertheless it does really feel gentle on Fox’s primetime TV hits. You’ll discover exhibits like The Simpsons, Bob’s Burgers, The Masked Singer and Hell’s Kitchen right here, however the episode and season depend shall be restricted. As I sifted by the exhibits, I started to note that the latest seasons of exhibits — which have already accomplished their preliminary episode runs — have been the one ones accessible to look at. If you are seeking to make amends for earlier seasons of your favourite exhibits, you will not discover them right here. However, you possibly can watch primetime programming stay by clicking in your Fox native channel within the stay information.The app leans closely into linear territory, as an alternative of making bespoke, authentic content material. The cause, in response to CEO Lachlan Murdoch, is to maintain prices low and entice a cord-cutting crowd who needs entry to Fox’s content material, with out subscribing to cable TV.Fox One has loads of content material for sports activities fanatics and shoppers of Fox News programming. The viewing expertise is surprisingly immersive. The lineup of on-demand and stay sports activities video games goes fairly deep right here. For occasion, soccer followers can discover a plethora of NFL content material on the app. It’s the primary league listed in its programming row. Since Fox carries NFL video games which might be broadcast on Sunday afternoons, you possibly can stream them on Fox One (and you’ll want to take a look at CNET’s NFL cord-cutters’ streaming information). The leagues row on the Fox One app is filled with sports activities programming choices. Screenshot by Aaron Pruner/CNETThere’s greater than NFL video games accessible on Fox One. Much more. After a fast scroll-through on the Sports menu, I discovered the Leagues row midway down the web page. You can discover practically all the pieces right here, from MLB and faculty soccer to NASCAR, LIV Golf, faculty basketball, ladies’s faculty basketball and MLS. Take notice: The NBA doesn’t have a presence on Fox One.There are rows upon rows of sports activities content material devoted to the leagues I listed above. It’s a bit overwhelming, to be sincere. The quantity of sport-specific replays and recaps might be dizzying to somebody like me (I do not actually comply with sports activities), however for die-hard followers, that is an absolute treasure trove. If you want a break from the video games, you’ll find a plethora of sports activities evaluation programming. The app’s Top 10 picks are clickable for every menu itemizing — Sports, Shows and News — so if you wish to watch the episodes of in style titles like Gutfeld!, Family Guy, Jesse Watters Primetime, The Joel Klatt Show or Outnumbered, you possibly can stream new seasons (and in some circumstances, a number of older seasons). If you will have a favourite host or Fox character, the Fox Voices row lists in style commentators like Tom Brady, Colin Cowherd and Nick Wright, and you may comply with any of them to personalize your viewing expertise. Should you get it? Only the most recent season of The Simpsons is obtainable to look at on the Fox One app. Screenshot by Aaron Pruner/CNETIt actually is determined by what you are searching for. Fox One, at the very least in its present iteration, is an app that is meant to behave as a supplemental technique of watching Fox content material. The library of Fox’s primetime hits could also be missing, however there is a sturdy risk that you simply’re already subscribed to Hulu, Disney Plus or one other streamer that has these exhibits.The app is stacked with content material, although. If you are an enormous sports activities fan or cannot get sufficient of Fox News, Fox One could also be of curiosity. It’s obtained the fascinating options like multiview and the stay information I discussed earlier. Fox One is obtainable on just about each system accessible in the marketplace, however the person expertise varies. And then there are the accessibility difficulties I discussed above.If you are already a cable TV subscriber, I can see the worth in utilizing Fox One at no extra price. But outdoors of that, Fox One, as a standalone app, would not really feel prefer it’s well worth the $20 month-to-month price ticket. Perhaps that’ll change now that the bundle with ESPN is stay.