fox.com
Fox Broadcasting Company is a major film distributor. They are one of the largest networks on television. The company is a member of the North American Broadcasters Association and the National Association of Broadcasters.
The network, which officially began airing in 1986, was FOX, which was challenging the other networks in terms of viewership and market share.
The network continued to be successful, hosting shows like The Late Show, Married with Children, 60 Minutes, and Murder She Wrote. The network has since gone on to host other popular television shows like Masterchef, Masterchef Junior, So You Think You Can Dance, Family Guy, Empire, and many more.
Website Design
The website's simple design is highlighted by a monochromatic background and a bold logo. The font is easy to read and white in color, making it ideal for a modern website.
The menu functions can be slightly confusing because there are so many to choose from. It is difficult to know where to start. The very top menu allows the viewer to check out any of the Fox network sister sites. Fox News, Fox Business, Fox Nation, and Fox Sports are boxed into the top with their logos.
The second menu reads from left to right - Home, Entertainment, Sports, News, Live TV Schedule. The sign in and search bars are located a short distance away from those menus. Featured programming is 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 noticeable and distracting. It feels less like they want to show the viewer their content, and more like they want you to click on their other sites.
Content
Fox maintains a broad range of programming available on their streaming site. This includes both dramas and comedies, as well as sports and other genres. If you're looking for an all-encompassing site with a great selection of shows, Fox is a good option. I would recommend trying Fox network shows on Hulu if they are available there.
The sister sites that are linked at the top are the 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
The desktop website is an okay way to access the streaming service, though the multiple menu bars and initial speed of changing pages are frustrating. It has a few redeeming qualities, such as its ease of use and availability on many platforms.
Mobile browser Version is similarly modeled after Desktop page. The unfortunate number of menus disappears in 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 website in the app.
The application for the network is a streaming app. However, the login process is very frustrating. 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 to open the app and see half of the content locked should not require an account. Navigation and design on the app are fine.
Positives
Fox's streaming site does not offer a lot of positive features when compared to other networks of the same caliber. The streaming site has a small number of shows that are good, the shows on the website are popular and relevant, and the live broadcast feature is nice.
The network will allow you to have a preview pass for up to sixty minutes. This is a unique way to motivate 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 website is very lackluster.
Negatives
Some negative aspects of this streaming service are plentiful. First, before previewing the site, my hopes were high for a network like Fox. They are one of the biggest and best television networks. However, they let us down by poorly managing this streaming service.
What follows, however, is a barrage of ads.
The navigation from the homepage is not wonderful, and when one does manage to make it to the show they would like to watch, be prepared to waste about thirty minutes of their life watching ads. I am no stranger when it comes to ads; they don't bother me very much. However, going into the show one is greeted with two ads. Not a problem, two isn't a large number. What follows, however, is a barrage of ads.
When viewing the video, there are six commercial breaks. Each commercial break has six commercials. This is ridiculous because there are only 6 commercials actually shown in the entire video!
Apart from the ad issues, the website's load time is poor. Changing from one page to the next is an incredibly frustrating 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 review, it is apparent that the layouts and functionality of those sites received much more attention than the streaming counterpart.
Improvements Needed
Many improvements need to be made to make this website an actual 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 to the website.
The first change that would be simple to incorporate is to push the sister site menu to the bottom of the page. This feature puts the sister sites mainly at the top of the page, which favors them instead of viewing content. Additionally, it feels like Fox is pushing their other sites on viewers in order to get a large number of clicks and traffic to their other sites.
Commercials should be shortened in order to preserve viewers' time. The number of commercial breaks and advertisements within the breaks is so long that it equates to almost the same amount of time as the television show itself. Not to mention, the ads are glitchy and stall stealing viewing time even more.
Summary
In terms of streaming services, Fox Broadcasting Company falls short in a number of ways. First, the website's design is not the worst. Second, the themes and style are both acceptable. However, when you look closely at the features offered, Fox Broadcasting Company falls short in many ways.
The double menus are an annoyance and they peddle the company's bigger agenda. They relentlessly suffocate viewers in advertisements and commercials. The viewing experience is so unpleasant, I would not recommend this service to anyone.
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