Axios Sara Fischer recently sat down with Fox Corp CEO Lachlan Murdoch. They discussed a wide range of topics, including their plans for the USFL.
Murdoch wants to grow FOX in places like lifestyle verticals, streaming, sports betting, and web3 (NFT’s) projects. The United States Football League is part of this long-term vision.
“Murdoch has been focused on finding ways to more deeply engage Fox’s most loyal fans across news, sports and entertainment.”
He sees NFT’s as a big part of their long-term vision. Something the USFL has rolled out as part of their first season. FOX committed $100 million to blockchain projects, including one with the WWE.
Sports betting is also involved in the long-term vision, which ties in the USFL world. The Fox Bet app has over 6.5 million users. However, I used it, and there has never been anything USFL-related, and it is lame. They could be adding more in the future. Currently, FOX is also trying to buy a stake in FanDuel.
Murdoch’s vision for the USFL is to build up teams to sell to local markets. We have written that the USFL won’t move any of its teams until there is an owner. The problem is finding local owners are hard to come by. But FOX is willing to wait years until it happens.
“Murdoch said Fox plans to continue building up small local teams and then sell those franchises to local owners in five to seven years’ time.”
Will USFL fans wait five to seven years for teams to move out of Birmingham? The current deal with the city is for three years. Will, the league, play for three years, and if there is no local interest in teams, will it fold? Will the league pay the money to move a team to a home location without an owner first? Who is in charge at the USFL of finding team owners?
FOX and Murdoch have a long-term vision for the league beyond just TV ratings. The United States Football League will play a role in many different aspects of FOX’s overall business strategy.
League officials have called this stage of the USFL an ‘incubator.’ The question is, will fans stick around and watch it grow. In the US, people love football, and the ratings have stabilized so far. We have to wait and see if this version of Spring Football has the right pieces to stick around for a long time. It seems like people at FOX think they do.
Elmer H Fitch
May 24, 2022 at 4:10 pm
I am with Murdock. Just keep building the League, and in three to five years, there will be buyers for these USFL owners of Teams; plus, in this time period, the league will be building its money.
Solon Person
May 24, 2022 at 4:38 pm
I used their app to bet on the USFL last weekend. You didn’t look properly.
Garret D Braggs
May 25, 2022 at 4:57 pm
I fear this super slow growth decision by the USFL will be hard pressed to last very long!