Description
Fox Corporation is an American mass media company headquartered in New York City. The company was formed in 2019 as a result of the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by The Walt Disney Company; the assets that were not acquired by Disney were spun off from 21st Century Fox as the new Fox Corp., and its stock began trading on January 1, 2019. The company is incorporated in Delaware.
It is owned by the Murdoch family via a family trust with 39% interest; Rupert Murdoch is chairman, while his son Lachlan Murdoch is executive chairman and CEO. Fox Corp. deals primarily in the television broadcast, news, and sports broadcasting industries. They include the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox Television Stations, Fox News, Fox Business, the national operations of Fox Sports, and others. Its sister company under Murdoch's control, the present-day News Corp, holds his print interests and other media assets.
History
The company name traces back through a series of mergers and demergers to the Fox Film Corporation founded by William Fox on February 1, 1915.
Formation
On December 14, 2017, The Walt Disney Company announced its intent to acquire the motion picture, cable entertainment, and direct broadcast satellite divisions of 21st Century Fox. The remainder of the company would form a so-called "New Fox", maintaining control of assets such as Fox's television network and broadcast stations, Fox News, the national operations of Fox Sports, and the 20th Century Fox studio lot, which would be leased to Disney for seven years. Fox's regional sports networks were to be included in the sale to Disney. In May 2018, it was confirmed that Lachlan Murdoch, rather than James Murdoch, would take charge of the New Fox company.
The merger faced antitrust scrutiny; Disney would not legally be able to own both the ABC and Fox networks due to an FCC policy known as the "dual network rule", which prohibits mergers between the top broadcast networks. The Department of Justice also ordered that Fox's regional sports networks be divested by Disney within 90 days of closing. Disney owns 80% of ESPN, and the Justice Department felt that the Fox regional networks' combination with ESPN would make Disney too dominant in the cable sports market.
In mid-2018, NBCUniversal's parent company Comcast instigated bidding wars over both the Fox assets Disney planned to purchase, and the British broadcaster Sky plc (a company which 21st Century Fox held a stake in, and was planning to acquire the remainder). In July 2018, Fox agreed to an increase of Disney's offer to $71.3 billion to fend off Comcast's counter-bid. British regulators ordered that a blind auction be held for Sky's assets, which was won by Comcast.
On October 10, 2018, it was reported that in preparation for the impending completion of the sale, the new, post-merger organizational structure of "New Fox" would be implemented by January 1, 2019. On November 14, 2018, it was revealed that the new independent company will maintain the original Fox name. On January 7, 2019, Fox Corporation's registration statement was filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
On January 11, 2019, Fox stated in a securities filing that it had no plans to bid on its former regional sports networks; they would instead go to a consortium led by Sinclair Broadcast Group, with Fox Corporation continuing to license the FSN name to those stations until Sinclair can develop a new brand. On March 12, 2019, Disney announced that the sale would be completed by March 20, 2019. On March 19, 2019, Fox Corporation officially began trading on the S&P 500, replacing 21st Century Fox on the index. Republican politician and former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan also joined Fox Corporation's board at this time.
Beginning of operations
Fox Corporation began operating separately on March 18, 2019. Chairman and CEO Lachlan Murdoch led a town hall meeting three days later, indicating that stock would be issued to the corporation's employees based on longevity.
In May 2019, via the Fox Sports division, Fox Corporation acquired a 4.99% stake in Canadian online gambling operator The Stars Group for $236 million. As a result, it was also announced that the companies would co-develop sports betting products for the U.S. market under the branding Fox Bet.
In early July 2019, Fox Entertainment announced the formation of SideCar, with executives led by Gail Berman. SideCar is a content development unit for Fox and other outlets.
In August 2019, Fox Corporation announced it would acquire Credible Labs for $397 million and animation studio Bento Box Entertainment for $50 million.
In April 2020, Fox acquired streaming service Tubi for $440 million.
Corporate governance
Board of directors
- Rupert Murdoch (Chairman)
- Lachlan Murdoch (Executive Chairman)
- Chase Carey
- Anne Dias
- Roland A. Hernandez
- Jacques Nasser
- Paul Ryan
Executive management
Lachlan Murdoch (Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer) John Nallen (Chief Operating Officer)
Viet D. Dinh (Chief Legal and Policy Officer)
Steve Tomsic (Chief Financial Officer)
Jack Abernethy (Chief Executive Officer, Fox Television Stations)
Michael Biard (President of Operations and Distribution)
Paul Cheesbrough (Chief Technology Officer and President of Digital)
Charlie Collier (Chief Executive Officer, Fox Entertainment)
- Amy Carney, Chief Operating Officer
- Michael Thorn, President of Entertainment
- Rob Wade, President, Alternative Entertainment and Specials
Joe Dorrego (Chief Investor Relations Officer and EVP of Corporate Initiatives)
Marianne Gambelli (President of Advertising Sales)
Kevin Lord (Executive Vice President of Human Resources)
Danny O'Brien (Executive Vice President and Head of Government Relations)
Suzanne Scott (Chief Executive Officer, Fox News Media)
Eric Shanks (Chief Executive Officer and Executive Producer, Fox Sports)
Jeff A. Taylor (Executive Vice President and Chief Litigation Counsel)
Claudia Teran (Executive Vice President and Corporate General Counsel)
Assets
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Entertainment
- Bento Box Entertainment
- Fox Alternative Entertainment
- Sidecar
- XOF Productions
Fox Now
Fox Television Stations
- 28 regional affiliates
- MyNetworkTV
- Movies! (50%)
- Fox Soul
- Fox First Run
Fox News Media
- Fox News Channel
- Fox Business
- Fox News Radio
- Fox News Talk (radio)
- Fox Nation
Fox Sports Media Group
- FS1
- FS2
- Fox Deportes (Spanish language)
- Big Ten Network (51%)
- Fox Soccer Plus
- Fox Sports Racing
- Fox Sports Radio (brand licensing agreement with iHeartMedia/Premiere Networks)
- Fox Sports Digital Media
FoxSports.com
The Stars Group (4.99%)
Credible Labs (67%)
Tubi
