Tired of people watching its shows on Netflix and Amazon, FX Networks is persuading pay-TV operators to sell an alternative: FX+, a paid service offering hits “American Horror Story” and “Atlanta” without advertisements.
The network on Monday announced plans to make FX+ available for $5.99 a month to the 4 million or so people who pay Cox Communications, which joins Comcast in selling the service. FX, owned by 21st Century Fox, is in the process of making deals with other pay-TV providers that will be announced in the coming months.
FX Networks Chief Executive Officer John Landgraf created FX+ so customers could watch all his shows on demand without decamping for Hulu, Amazon and Netflix. Landgraf has said Netflix is far more dangerous. Netflix has paid Fox for licenses to its shows, enticing millions of viewers away from Fox’s own TV networks.
The company, which will spend $7 billion on programming next year, could turn into a monopoly whose concentration of power would damage the TV business. Fox has been the biggest supplier of hit shows to streaming services Netflix and Hulu, according to a recent report by analyst Michael Nathanson.