fox.com
Fox Broadcasting Company is a major television and film distributor. They are one of the largest networks on TV, and are part of the North American Broadcasters Association and the National Association of Broadcasters.
In 1985, the network announced they would bring a company to compete with daytime television. The competing networks were CBS, NBC, and ABC. In 1986, FOX formally began airing and challenging the other networks.
The network has been very successful in challenging the other companies and has hosted many hit television shows like The Late Show, Married with Children, 60 Minutes, and Murder She Wrote.
Website Design
The website's design is simple. The background is black and the theme is monochromatic. The logo is in bold print at the top left. The font is all easy to read and white in color.
The menu features a variety of options, and it can be challenging to figure out where to start. The top menu includes icons for all of the Fox network's sister sites, such as Fox News, Fox Business, Fox Nation, and Fox Sports.
The second menu is located on the right-hand side of the screen and reads from left to right - Home, Entertainment, Sports, News, Live TV Schedule. Nearby are the sign in and search bars. Featured programming is shown in a large window below the menu.
The two menu sections are not difficult to differentiate between. However, the large logos of Fox's other networks are very distracting. They feel less like they want to show the viewer their content, and more like they want you to click on their other sites.
Content
Fox keeps a very large variety of shows available on their streaming site. They have everything from dramas to sitcoms, sports, and more. If you are looking for an all-encompassing streaming site, Fox is an okay choice. I recommend trying the Fox network shows on Hulu if they are available there, instead.
The sister sites that are linked at the top are other streaming sites that Fox owns. The news network is a compilation of news articles and video clips pertaining to breaking news. The Fox Business Network is similar to the news one, except it features stories involving businesses more prevalently. It also keeps the stock market rising and plummets in the sidebar. Fox Nation focuses on patriotic American themed content, while Fox Sports features sports news.
Desktop & Mobile Accessibility
For example, the desktop website is easy to use and it has an attractive design.
The mobile browser version is formatted similarly to the desktop site. The unfortunate number of menus disappears in the mobile version. The top menu is much easier to view and the search bar is also easily found. A large button prompts us to open the website in the app.
The application for the network is your typical streaming app. However, the login process is difficult. The app will not allow you to view anything unless you create an account attached to your email. This is definitely problematic. It is a great way to turn away viewers. The process doesn't take very long, but opening the app and seeing half of the content locked should not require an account. Navigation and design on the app are fine.
Positives
There are not many good features to include about Fox's streaming site. It comes up short compared to other networks of the same caliber when it comes to streaming. A few good features I can name are the variety and amount of shows available, the popularity of shows on the website, and the live broadcast feature.
The network will allow you to have a preview pass for up to 60 minutes. This is a way to entice viewers to get a membership and one of the only real positive features for me. Under the live broadcast, the menu for what is upcoming shows. Otherwise, the site is very lackluster.
Negatives
Some people have negative things to say about this streaming service before even trying it because Fox is one of the biggest and best TV networks. However, this service is poorly managed and doesn't live up to expectations.
But the third ad is right before the show starts and it's extremely long.
The navigation from the homepage is not great, and when you do manage to make it to the show you would like to watch be prepared to waste about thirty minutes of your life watching ads. I am no stranger when it comes to ads; they don't bother me very much. However, going into the show you are greeted with two ads. Not a problem, two isn't a large number. But the third ad is right before the show starts and it's extremely long.
When you watch the video, there are six commercial breaks. That's just breaks! The actual commercials have six ads each, which is ridiculous.
Despite the ad issues, the website's load time is poor. Changing from one page to the next is a terrible experience. Another strange thing about the website is its choice in unlocked episodes. Instead of locking the most recent episodes, it is common for Fox to lock the first episode of a series. They also habitually leave only the fifth and sixth episodes of shows unlocked. The choice is a very strange one.
The lackluster performance of this streaming service leads viewers to believe Fox would rather push their sister sites. Upon closer inspection, the layouts and functionality of those sites look like they received much more attention than the streaming counterpart.
Improvements Needed
So many improvements need to be made on this website in order for it to be a contender for the best streaming experience. Currently, the website and app are lacking and riddled with issues. I would not consider watching streams from Fox unless changes are made.
People would find it easier to find the sister sites if they were located at the bottom of the page rather than prominently featured at the top. Additionally, it feels like Fox is trying to force their other sites onto viewers in order to get more clicks and traffic.
The amount of commercials and commercial breaks are so long that it almost equates to the same amount of time as the television show itself. Plus, the ads are glitchy and Stall stealing even more viewing time.
Summary
Fox Broadcasting Company's streaming services aren't bad per se, but they're not as good as they could be. The website design is rather stylish and there are cool themes, but the features available are lackluster.
I don't like the way the double menus look. They're really intrusive with all the advertising and commercials. I don't think anyone would enjoy using this service if it was available to them.
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