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Fox Sports CEO Eric Shanks has overseen six Super Bowls since taking the helm in 2010. But he’s not afraid to admit the 2026 World Cup will be the tallest task in company history.
“It’ll be the biggest logistical undertaking that Fox has ever done,” Shanks said at the Front Office Sports Tuned In summit in New York.
Fox owns the English-language domestic broadcasting rights for the 2026 FIFA men’s World Cup, which runs from June 11 to July 19. It’s the first time the quadrennial tournament will be held in the U.S. since 1994. Canada and Mexico are also hosting the tournament, which is expanding from 32 to 48 teams next year.
According to The New York Times, Fox is paying 10% more for the 2026 World Cup rights than in tournaments in 2018 and 2022, which totaled $425 million.
Shanks said there hasn’t yet been much buzz around the country, but he thinks that should change when the calendar turns to 2026 as more local fans learn about the tournament.
“This country has no idea what’s going to hit it next summer,” Shanks said.
Deal With Dave
FOS reported in July that Fox Sports agreed to a partnership with Barstool Sports and its founder, Dave Portnoy. Fox and Barstool’s deal brings additional programs like Wake Up Barstool on FS1, while Portnoy has appeared on Big Noon Kickoff, the network’s college football pregame show.
Asked how to navigate that partnership with some of the company’s other partners and stakeholders, including the NFL and, most recently, Ohio State, which have had some issues with Portnoy, Shanks said it’s no different from other balancing acts he’s done before.
“We’ve put, in the past, some baseball talent, baseball wasn’t exactly happy with. We thought it was good for the show, and everybody was grown-ups and they trust us. … Hopefully, over time, we can find that trust and that medium in there because we’re not out to poke anybody. We’re here to try to make every one of their businesses bigger,” Shanks said.
Valuing the Streaming Bundle
It’s been less than a month since the launch of Fox One, the company’s streaming service that includes Fox’s broadcast sports portfolio, FS1, and the Big Ten Network.
Shanks acknowledged the new media landscape has made it “naggingly hard” for sports fans to navigate during game day. He said the sports streaming bundle, and the inclusion of broadcast channels within the bundle, is “the best thing for sports fans,” and that “sports fans have been taken advantage of.”
“We have this theory that wins. … Accessing the broadcast TV channels is still simpler than accessing any other service,” Shanks said.
