How Will FX+ Impact Netflix, Hulu, And Amazon Prime Video?

By Kayla Cobb @kaylcobb
Published Aug. 10, 2017, 7:30 a.m. ET

When you talk about peak TV, it’s next to impossible not to mention FX. From massive successes like The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story to niche gems like You’re the Worst, the award-winning shows on the network have consistently been lauded as some of the best. With FX being such a powerhouse and with more television being watched digitally than ever before, it’s insane how difficult it is to stream current FX shows. Apparently, FX agrees.

On Monday, FX announced its own streaming service, FX+. Available to Comcast subscribers, FX+ will offer ad-free, exclusive access to FX’s original series all for $5.99 a month. It’s an exciting announcement for fans of the company, but it’s also an announcement that is probably leaving streamers with questions. What’s going to be on this new streaming service? How much will it cost? And perhaps most importantly of all, how will it affect the FX content that’s currently on Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video? Here’s what we know so far.

FX Networks

What are the benefits of FX+?

Currently, the streaming service is being marketed as as sort of HBO Go for FX’s channels. The platform will include programming from FX, FXX, and FXM, the company’s movie channel. Subscribers will be able to live stream new episodes as they premiere as well as watch past seasons of FX shows. All of this will be available on a platform without any commercial interruptions.

According to the streaming service’s press release, FX+ will give streamers access to entire seasons of 16 different FX shows. It will also feature the current seasons of the following FX originals from this point forward:

How much will FX+ cost?

When the service launches, it will only be available to Comcast subscribers as a $5.99 a month add on. However, according to President of FX John Landgraf, the network is in talks “with every major MVPD [multi-channel video programming distributor], all of whom have expressed interest in carrying the product.”

When will FX+ become available?

The initial Comcast launch of the service will happen on Wednesday, September 5. That’s the day of American Horror Story: Cult’s premiere and the day before You’re the Worst’s Season 4 premiere, so if you’re an Xfinity TV customer and are interested in this service, you’ll be able to test out its livestreaming capabilities immediately.

FX

Does the launch of FX+ mean that the traditional FX channels will be changing?

No. As Landgraf explained at TCA’s 2017 Summer tour, the streaming service will only be an optional extension of the FX brand. “I think this is about giving consumers a choice, and I think what they don’t like is a lack of choice,” he said. “If you have a large household, a family, and you have a room with a big TV, and you have a lot of different people with different tastes who want to watch different kinds of programming, you’re still going to want to buy the bundle, and that’s still going to be the best value. If you’re a single person or if you have a small family or if you have limited taste, you may not want to buy that entire bundle.”

If anything FX+ seeks to resolve the main issue that has plagued FX for years and that this site has covered extensively — distribution. No one is arguing against the fact that FX has some of the best shows on television, but under its current model and windowing system, it’s impossible to watch all of its originals on one digital platform without paying a substantial amount of money. FX+ hopes to remedy this. “I just think the model for what is the platonic ideal for these brands is not just a linear channel with current programming anymore. It’s that plus, right? It’s HBO Go, which has a channel and a streaming service,” Landgraf said.

Does the launch of FX+ mean that FX’s content will be leaving Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video?

This is by far the biggest question on savvy streamers’ minds, especially Hulu subscribers. Currently, the three biggest streaming services — Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video — all offer at least one FX original series. Netflix and Hulu in particular have worked out specific streaming deals with the network, Netflix to secure the rights of The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story and Hulu to obtain just about everything else. When asked if subscribers need to worry about FX shows being pulled from their favorite streaming services, Landgraf said “Not yet.”

“We still have it’s a complicated negotiation, conversation between us and Hulu as to how we can share the content we’ve already sold to them, as well as what are we going to do between us and them with the future FX content,” he said. “When I say every episode of every season all the time, you know, obviously we have over a thousand episodes and, I think, 35 series and over 100 seasons, but we still have work to do.”

However, Landgraf also said that if you were a subscriber to Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video, you still wouldn’t have access to all of the content FX+ will have. “But a lot of the content that’s on FX+ will also simultaneously be on either Hulu or Amazon or Netflix,” Landgraf said.

Long story short? Your streaming service of choice is safe for now, but be wary. That may change in the future.