• by Wayne Friedman , July 11, 2016

Making a bold step into the streaming digital world, Fox will be the first network allowing viewers to live stream Fox prime-time programming across every TV market in the U.S.

The new service, call Fox Now Live -- a spin-off of its on-demand digital programming service Fox Now -- starts today. It means pay TV subscribers nationwide can stream summer prime-time programs like “So You Think You Can Dance,” “MasterChef” and “Wayward Pines” at the same time these shows air in their local time zones.

Speaking at a Fox corporate blog, Brian Sullivan, president of digital for Fox Networks Group, said: “Fox began hearing from consumers... that, even when they weren’t home, they wanted to be able to stream the series live on Fox Now and Fox.com. They didn’t want to have to wait until the next day to stream it, which until now has been their only option.”

Viewers can now stream prime-time programming live via Fox.com and Fox Now on virtually every screen -- on iPhone, iPad, Android, Kindle Fire, Apple TV and Google Chromecast.

Sullivan says this will give national TV advertisers more opportunities to reach Fox viewers -- as well as creating more ad opportunities for Fox affiliated stations:

“It means a new revenue stream and promotional opportunities, as we now have the ability to offer dynamically inserted local-market advertising and station branding as part of this live prime-time stream – an industry first.”