Prime-Time Ambition

On a cool December night in 2001, Harry Jackson stepped into the bright hallways of Fox Studios, with a hint of the doom-and-gloom political climate in late 2001 still lingering but with a sense of hope and urgency that overrode that feeling altogether.

The previous month, he had taken a chance by launching two audacious projects: live Premier League matches in American prime time, and the launch of SpongeBob SquarePants on Fox TV. Now, both were about to be aired, and he wanted to make sure they punched a hole in the cultural wall of disbelief.

By 8 p.m., the control room for Arsenal vs. Manchester United was buzzing with nervous energy. The biggest domestic football game anywhere in the world was now being shown live into American living rooms with relatively good timing due the time difference.

This was a gamble. In 2001, American appetites had clearly been colonized by the NFL, the NBA, and baseball. But Harry believed the soccer revolution had begun and had been seeping into American society, whether Americans wanted it or not.

He sat back and watched the beginning of the telecast. The sound of the opening theme led into Martin Tyler's dulcet tones. The match unfolded as the rain fell at Old Trafford, with events happening in real time—the same intensity and barely warm drizzle suited perfectly for American audiences.

Immediately afterward, 8:30 p.m., in came SpongeBob SquarePants. The fluorescent-yellow sponge entered a late-night slot originally meant for adults who loved cartoons—a one-off synthetic nostalgia steeped in worthiness (and perhaps stoking whatever DVD market it could).

This was Fox's choice to air the first-ever broadcast on the network feed. Harry had sold it as entertainment the entire family could engage in, meant to brighten any midnight shift for adults.

The following morning, Harry made his way to the harsh 2001-style newswar room to meet Sandy Grushow, Gail Berman, and their staff.

The numbers were in.

Arsenal had a 1.0, which is not a lot, but it is still a legitimate 1.7 million viewers. SpongeBob was just a bit higher, approximately a 1.2 with 2 million viewers.

Sandy was the first to speak and scowled at the papers until Gail followed suit with a sigh. "This is lackluster," she said begrudgingly.

Harry leaned in and was very calm. "I was expecting that, given the time of year and competing sports. The NFL and NBA are in full effect. Baseball spring training is going on. Prime-time soccer in America does not just take off overnight."

"This is minimal, and it is against reruns of Monday Night Football," said Sandy mostly to himself with a frown, tapping his pen on his desk.

"It is," admitted Harry with the same even tone. "That does not mean it is failure. This is, again, just the first data point. We are just planting a flag. We are measuring excitement and interest, not market share."

Gail recalled the string of voicemails from sponsors who were asking "what's next?" "The phones were ringing," she said, and the people calling were excited, even if we haven't sold any viewers yet."

"That's perfect," Harry said. "That's the spark. Now, let's expand. In week two, we add a studio panel with Alexi Lalas, who adds some American perspective to an overly foreign game. In week three, we will add feature segments on youth academies and player profiles. SpongeBob will also be back at 5 p.m. on Saturdays, with our hopes for kids after school. The late-night timeslot is just the drumbeat. The crescendo will be afternoon replay blocks." 

He stopped staring at Sandy. "Remember, it took Nickelodeon months to grow Rugrats into a franchise! We have to be patient."

Sandy unclenched his jaw. "Okay then. Week two. We are doubling down— not cancelling!"

Harry nodded. After the meeting, he went back to his suite: Frosty glass overlooking the Los Angeles skyline. He thought how Fox had become an unlikely advocate for ambitious content ideas — taking a flyer on the English game, and then a quirky cartoon all under his stewardship.

He got a report later in the afternoon detailing SpongeBob's digital statistics overnight. The 24-hour digital repeats elevated the viewing audience to 3.8 million—a number that proved its nostalgic power—even on an overnight. On the soccer front, the Fox Sports 1 streaming numbers were nearly as good as those on Network TV. A small public school in Kansas had even asked to be the "Fox Soccer Night" host average. 

Later that night, Harry strolled into a small L.A. bar with about a dozen producers and commentators and his trusted lieutenants Lisa. They clinked glasses of champagne low in some 2001-era glasses amid reddish saturated light. They toasted to not a really big success, but caution about being optimistic. Harry's smile was slow and genuine. 

Lisa corrected him, "We've taken the gate. Now we hold it." While she was speaking, the big screen flashed Fox's digital TV listings to highlight Liverpool next week. The plan worked. 

Harry watched the ticker scroll across the screen—Sports and Entertainment Stocks Up a Bit Again. He couldn't help but whisper. "Goals on the other side of the pond and we just scored." 

By 2001 standards, it was a small victory. However, it's the kind of small victory that can grow.