May 9, 2026 11:15am PT

TV Ratings Revolt: Big Media Hopes for Upfront Measures Like Car Showroom Visits, Movie Ticket Sales

Brian Steinberg

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Brian Steinberg

Senior TV Editor

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The Voorhes for Variety

TV has long been an industry based on eyeballs. Now media companies are winking more at feet.

Fox Corp. is the backer of some of TV’s most-watched programs including Sunday-afternoon NFL games and “The Masked Singer.” Earlier this week, however, it released a report touting not the number of people who see its shows, but rather the fact that ad campaigns from certain fast-food chains seen by viewers on its broadcast network drove foot traffic to restaurants by 81% over audiences who did not. The data comes from a Fox home brew of more than 20 different sources that gauge consumer activity and response, and there is some expectation on the part of big media companies that proof of what are being called “outcomes” – actions taken as the result of having been exposed to ads — may become a bigger part of ongoing discussions between Big TV and Madison Avenue.