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Fox Corporation

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This article is about the television broadcasting company. For the company prior to the spin off and acquisition by Disney, see 21st Century Fox.

Fox Corporation
Company typePublic
ISIN
IndustryMedia
Predecessor21st Century Fox
FoundedMarch 19, 2019; 5 years ago (2019-03-19)
FounderRupert Murdoch
Headquarters 1211 Avenue of the Americas,
New York City, Burbank, California
,
U.S.
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
ProductsTelevision programs
web portals
ServicesBroadcasting
Licensing
Streaming
Television
RevenueDecrease US$13.98 billion (2024)
Decrease US$1.837 billion (2024)
Increase US$1.501 billion (2024)
Total assetsIncrease US$21.97 billion (2024)
Total equityIncrease US$10.71 billion (2024)
OwnerMurdoch family (17% equity; 39% voting power)
Number of employees
10,200 (2024)
Divisions
Websitefoxcorporation.com Edit this at Wikidata
Footnotes / references
Financials as of fiscal year ended June 30, 2024.
References:[2][3][4][5][6]

Fox Corporation is an American multinational mass media company headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in Midtown Manhattan. Incorporated in Delaware, it was formed as the portion of 21st Century Fox that was not acquired by The Walt Disney Company in 2019.[7][8][9][10] The company is controlled by the Murdoch family via a family trust with 39.6% ownership share, and by Rupert Murdoch himself to the effect of almost 40%.[11][12]

Rupert Murdoch is chair emeritus, while his son Lachlan Murdoch is executive chair and CEO. Fox Corp. deals primarily in the television broadcast, news, and sports broadcasting industries. Its assets include the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox Television Stations, Fox News, Fox Business, Fox Sports, Tubi, and others. Murdoch's newspaper interests and other media assets are held by News Corp, which is also under his control.

On September 21, 2023, Rupert Murdoch announced that he was stepping down as the chairman of Fox Corporation, effective November 2023.[13]

History

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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.[14]

Formation

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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, including 20th Century Fox, for $52.4 billion. 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 (which Disney, already owning ABC, would be legally unable to own due to an FCC policy known as the "dual network rule", which prohibits mergers between the top broadcast networks), 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 also included in the sale, but were later divested by order of the Department of Justice, on the grounds that the Fox regional networks' combination with Disney's 80% ownership of ESPN would make Disney too dominant in the cable sports market.[15][16][17][18][19]

In May 2018 it was confirmed that Lachlan Murdoch, rather than James Murdoch, would take charge of the New Fox company.[4]

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 that 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.[20][21] British regulators ordered that a blind auction be held for Sky's assets, which was won by Comcast.[22]

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.[5] On November 14, 2018, it was revealed that the new independent company will maintain the original Fox name.[23] On January 7, 2019, Fox Corporation's registration statement was filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.[24]

On January 11, 2019, Fox stated in a securities filing that it had no plans to bid on its former regional sports networks;[7] 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 developed a new brand (the networks would eventually become Bally Sports).[25] On March 12, 2019, Disney announced that the sale would be completed by March 20, 2019.[26] On March 19, 2019, Fox Corporation officially began trading on the S&P 500, replacing 21st Century Fox on the index.[9] Republican politician and former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan also joined Fox Corporation's board at this time.[3]

Under the terms of the acquisition, Disney will phase out the Fox brand usage by 2024.[27]

Operations

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Fox Corporation began operating separately on March 19, 2019.[3] 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.[28]

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.[29]

In early July 2019, Fox Entertainment announced the formation of SideCar, with executives led by Gail Berman. SideCar was a content development unit for Fox and other outlets.[30] In June 2020, SideCar was shut down by Fox.[31]

In August 2019, Fox Corporation acquired Credible Labs for $397 million and animation studio Bento Box Entertainment for $50 million.[32][33][34]

On April 20, 2020, Fox Corporation acquired streaming service Tubi for $440 million.[35][36]

In September 2021, Fox Corporation acquired TMZ from WarnerMedia in a deal worth about $50 million, with TMZ being operated under the Fox Entertainment division.[37]

In December 2021, Fox Corporation acquired the film and television production studio MarVista Entertainment.[38][39]

In September 2022, Fox Corporation announced the launch of Fox Entertainment Studios. This is the company's first venture into entirely in-house television production. The studio debuted its first show, Monarch, on September 11, 2022.[40] Fox also announced that Fox Entertainment would re-enter the international distribution business by launching a sales unit called Fox Entertainment Global.[41]

On October 14, 2022, it was announced that, under the instruction of Rupert Murdoch, a special committee had been established to explore a potential merger of Fox and News Corp, bringing the two companies back together since the former 21st Century Fox was spun-off from News Corp in 2013.[42] Although Lachlan Murdoch supported his father in the proposal, James Murdoch opposed it, as did many shareholders.[43] On January 24, 2023, the proposed merger was abandoned by Murdoch.[44][45]

In April 2023, Fox announced it would be forming Tubi Media Group. This would be a standalone digital business unit, encompassing Tubi, Credible Labs, Blockchain Creative Labs, along with several other Fox digital sports, news and entertainment platforms[46] and teams, in which Paul Cheesbrough was announced as CEO.[47][needs update]

In September 2024 Rupert Murdoch applied to a Nevada probate court to remove voting rights from his children other than Lachlan, as set out in the irrevocable family trust. The other siblings, Prudence MacLeod, Elisabeth Murdoch, and James Murdoch, are more moderate politically than their father or brother, and Rupert was keen to keep the conservative political bias in his media outlets.[48] On December 9, 2024, The New York Times reported that the court had ruled against Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch, who, the probate commissioner wrote, had acted in bad faith when trying to change the trust.[49][50]

Assets

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For a more comprehensive list, see List of assets owned by Fox Corporation.

The company consists of the former 21st Century Fox's media and broadcasting properties that were owned by its predecessor, such as the Fox Broadcasting Company and Fox Sports Media Group.[51]

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Management". FOXCorporation.com. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  2. ^ "FY 2024 Annual Report (Form 10-K)". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. August 8, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Littleton, Cynthia; Steinberg, Brian (March 18, 2019). "Fox Corporation Emerges as Standalone Entity, Paul Ryan Joins Board". Variety. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  4. ^ a b Disis, Jill (May 16, 2018). "Lachlan Murdoch, not James, will lead New Fox company". CNN. Archived from the original on May 17, 2018. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  5. ^ a b Holloway, Daniel (October 10, 2018). "Fox Will Be Ready to Close Disney Deal Jan. 1, Says Peter Rice (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on October 11, 2018. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  6. ^ "EARNINGS RELEASE FOR THE QUARTER AND FISCAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2019" (PDF). Fox Corporation (Press release). New York, NY. August 7, 2019. Retrieved October 2, 2019.[permanent dead link‍]
  7. ^ a b Littleton, Cynthia (January 11, 2019). "Fox Confirms It Won't Bid on Disney's Regional Sports Networks". Variety. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  8. ^ "21st Century Fox Announces Pricing Of Senior Notes By Fox Corporation". January 15, 2019. Archived from the original on February 2, 2019. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
  9. ^ a b Chang, Sue (March 14, 2019). "Fox Corp. to replace Twenty-First Century Fox on S&P 500". MarketWatch. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  10. ^ "fox-10k_20190630.htm". www.sec.gov. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
  11. ^ Viet, Dinh (November 12, 2020). "2020 Notice of Meeting and Proxy Statement (Page 63)". Fox Corporation | INVESTOR RELATIONS. p. 63.
  12. ^ Darcy, Oliver (March 1, 2023). "Fox executives should be fired for 'proven misconduct' exposed in Dominion lawsuit, renowned Yale professor says | CNN Business". CNN. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  13. ^ Rizzo, Lillian (September 21, 2023). "Rupert Murdoch steps down as chairman of Fox and News Corp". CNBC. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  14. ^ Post Staff Report (February 10, 2010). "Is Fox really 75 this year? Somewhere, the fantastic Mr. (William) Fox begs to differ". New York Post. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
  15. ^ "Disney wins US antitrust approval to buy Fox assets". CNBC. June 27, 2018. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  16. ^ James, Meg (June 28, 2013). "News Corp. divides into two companies; 21st Century Fox is born". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  17. ^ Littleton, Cynthia; Steinberg, Brian (December 14, 2017). "Disney to Buy 21st Century Fox Assets for $52.4 Billion in Historic Hollywood Merger". Variety. Retrieved February 8, 2018.
  18. ^ Gardner, Eriq (December 12, 2018). "FCC Reviewing Rule Prohibiting Mergers Among Big Four Broadcast Networks". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  19. ^ Littleton, Cynthia (June 27, 2018). "Justice Department Approves Disney's Acquisition of 21st Century Fox With Divestiture of Regional Sports Networks". Variety. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  20. ^ Brodkin, Jon (June 20, 2018). "Sorry, Comcast: Fox and Disney sign new merger deal, rejecting Comcast bid". Ars Technica. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  21. ^ Lee, Edmund (June 20, 2018). "Disney Ups Its Bid for 21st Century Fox to $71.3 Billion". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  22. ^ Waterson, Jim (June 26, 2018). "Rupert Murdoch's Sky reign to end as Fox sells all shares to Comcast". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  23. ^ Donnelly, Matt (November 14, 2018). "Official Name of New Fox Is, Uh, Fox – and Other Takeaways From Annual Stockholders Meeting". Variety. Archived from the original on November 14, 2018. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
  24. ^ Chmielewski, Dawn (January 7, 2019). "21st Century Fox Files Registration Statement With SEC To Form 'New' Fox". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  25. ^ Wilen, Holden (August 26, 2019). "Sinclair CEO see 'massive opportunity' with rebranding of Fox sports networks". Baltimore Business Journal. Retrieved October 21, 2019.(subscription required)
  26. ^ Littleton, Cynthia (March 12, 2019). "Disney Sets March 20 Closing Date for 21st Century Fox Acquisition". Variety. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  27. ^ "FISCAL YEAR 2020 ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT" (PDF). The Walt Disney Company. p. 79. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
  28. ^ Otterson, Joe; Holloway, Daniel (March 21, 2019). "New Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch Announces All Employees to Receive Stock in Company". Variety. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  29. ^ Soshnick, Scott; Novy-Williams, Eben (May 8, 2019). "Fox buys US$236M Stars Group stake to enter betting market". BNN Bloomberg. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  30. ^ Low, Elaine (July 8, 2019). "SideCar, Fox Entertainment's Content Development Accelerator, Names Exec Team". Variety. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  31. ^ Porter, Rick (June 12, 2020). "Fox Disbands SideCar; Gail Berman Returning to Jackal Group". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
  32. ^ Duran, Paulina (August 5, 2019). "Murdoch's Fox Corp to buy fintech Credible Labs in $397 million deal". Reuters. Archived from the original on July 29, 2020. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
  33. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (August 6, 2019). "Fox Entertainment Acquires 'Bob's Burgers' Animation House Bento Box". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 6, 2019.
  34. ^ Flint, Joe (August 6, 2019). "Fox to Buy Bento Box, the Animation House Behind 'Bob's Burgers'". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  35. ^ Baysinger, Tim (March 17, 2020). "Fox Buys Ad-Supported Streaming Service Tubi in $440 Million Cash Deal". TheWrap. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  36. ^ Goldsmith, Jill (April 20, 2020). "Fox Closes Purchase Of Tubi In Day Of Streaming Deals". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  37. ^ Hayes, Dade (September 13, 2021). "Fox Entertainment Closes Acquisition Of TMZ From WarnerMedia". Yahoo!. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  38. ^ Porter, Rick (December 13, 2021). "Fox Acquires TV Movie Producer MarVista Entertainment". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  39. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (December 13, 2021). "Fox Entertainment Acquires Top TV Movie Producer & Distributor MarVista Entertainment". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  40. ^ "FOX Entertainment Bolsters 2022–23 Program Slate Across Network and Streaming with New Comedies, Dramas, Unscripted Series and Made-For-Platform Movies".
  41. ^ Whittock, Jesse (September 20, 2022). "Fox Re-Enters International Distribution Business With Launch Of Sales Unit Fox Entertainment Global". Deadline. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
  42. ^ "Rupert Murdoch considering merging Fox and News Corp once again". the Guardian. October 15, 2022. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
  43. ^ Verrender, Ian (September 21, 2024). "Inside 'Project Harmony', Rupert Murdoch's desperate plan to keep control from beyond the grave". ABC News. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
  44. ^ Weprin, Alex (January 24, 2023). "Fox-News Corp. Merger Dead as Rupert Murdoch Says Deal "Not Optimal" For Shareholders". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  45. ^ Cohan, William D. (July 4, 2023). "Opinion | No One Can Stop Rupert Murdoch. That's Increasingly a Problem". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  46. ^ Frankelpublished, Daniel (April 26, 2023). "Fox Forms Tubi Media Group, Puts CTO Paul Cheesbrough in Charge of New Digital Unit". NextTV. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  47. ^ "FOX creates Tubi Media Group". Broadband TV News. April 27, 2023. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  48. ^ Cite error: The named reference manning26oct2024 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  49. ^ Chmielewski, Dawn (December 9, 2024). "Rupert Murdoch fails in bid to change family trust, New York Times reports". Reuters. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  50. ^ Mahler, Jonathan; Rutenberg, Jim (December 9, 2024). "Rupert Murdoch Fails in Bid to Change Family Trust". The New York Times. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  51. ^ "Businesses Archive". Fox Corporation. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
[edit]
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