Fox Corporation

Fox Corporation (abbreviated Fox Corp. and informally "New Fox"; simply called as Fox) is an American media company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It was formed as a result of the 2019 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 March 19, 2019.[6][7][8] Fox Corp. is incorporated in Delaware.

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

Fox Corporation
Public
Traded as
ISINUS35137L1052
US35137L2043
IndustryMass media
Predecessor21st Century Fox
FoundedMarch 19, 2019 (2019-03-19)
FounderRupert Murdoch
Headquarters1211 Avenue of the Americas,
New York City, New York
,
U.S.
Area served
United States
Key people
  • Lachlan Murdoch (Executive chairman, CEO)
  • Rupert Murdoch (Chairman)
  • John Nallen (COO)
Revenue$11.389 billion (2019)
$2.681 billion (2019)
$1.595 billion (2019)
Total assets$19.509 billion (2019)
Total equity$9.958 billion (2019)
OwnerMurdoch family (39% voting power)
Divisions
Subsidiaries
Websitewww.foxcorporation.com
Footnotes / references
[2][3][4][5]

It is owned by the Murdoch family via a family trust with 39% interest; Rupert Murdoch is co-executive chairman, while his son Lachlan Murdoch is chairman and CEO.

Fox Corp. deals primarily in the television broadcast, news, and sports broadcasting industries by way of the remaining 21st Century Fox assets that were not acquired by Disney. 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.[9]

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.[10][11] In May 2018, it was confirmed that Lachlan Murdoch, rather than James Murdoch, would take charge of the New Fox company.[3]

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.[12] The Department of Justice also ordered that Fox's regional sports networks be divested by Disney within 90 days of closing. Disney owns 80 percent 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.[13][14]

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.[15][16] British regulators ordered that a blind auction be held for Sky's assets, which was won by Comcast.[17]

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.[4] On November 14, 2018, it was revealed that the new independent company will maintain the original Fox name.[18] On January 7, 2019, Fox Corporation's registration statement was filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.[19]

On January 11, 2019, Fox stated in a securities filing that it had no plans to bid on its former regional sports networks;[6] 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.[20] On March 12, 2019, Disney announced that the sale would be completed by March 20, 2019.[21] On March 19, 2019, Fox Corporation officially began trading on the S&P 500, replacing 21st Century Fox on the index.[8] Republican politician and former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan also joined Fox Corporation's board at this time.[2]

Beginning of operations

Fox Corporation began operating separately on March 18, 2019.[2] 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.[22]

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.[23]

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.[24]

In August 2019, Fox Corporation announced it would acquire Credible Labs for $397 million and animation studio Bento Box Entertainment for $50 million.[25][26][27]

In 2020, Fox acquired streaming service Tubi for $440 million.[28][29]

Corporate governance

Board of directors

Executive management
  • Lachlan Murdoch (Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer)[22]
    • 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)[30]
    • Michael Biard (President of Operations and Distribution)
    • Paul Cheesbrough (Chief Technology Officer and President of Digital)
    • Charlie Collier (Chief Executive Officer, Fox Entertainment)[31]
      • 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)[30]
    • Hope Hicks (Executive Vice President and Chief Communications Officer)
    • 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)

Assets

References
  1. "Privacy Policy". Divorce Court. Archived from the original on October 14, 2019. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  2. Littleton, Cynthia; Steinberg, Brian (March 18, 2019). "Fox Corporation Emerges as Standalone Entity, Paul Ryan Joins Board". Variety. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. "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.
  6. Littleton, Cynthia (January 11, 2019). "Fox Confirms It Won't Bid on Disney's Regional Sports Networks". Variety. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  7. "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.
  8. Chang, Sue (March 14, 2019). "Fox Corp. to replace Twenty-First Century Fox on S&P 500". MarketWatch. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  9. 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.
  10. 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.
  11. 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.
  12. Gardner, Eriq (December 12, 2018). "FCC Reviewing Rule Prohibiting Mergers Among Big Four Broadcast Networks". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  13. 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.
  14. "Disney wins US antitrust approval to buy Fox assets". CNBC. June 27, 2018. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  15. Brodkin, Jon (June 20, 2018). "Sorry, Comcast: Fox and Disney sign new merger deal, rejecting Comcast bid". Ars Technica. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  16. 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.
  17. 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.
  18. 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.
  19. Chmielewski, Dawn (January 7, 2019). "21st Century Fox Files Registration Statement With SEC To Form 'New' Fox". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  20. 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)
  21. Littleton, Cynthia (March 12, 2019). "Disney Sets March 20 Closing Date for 21st Century Fox Acquisition". Variety. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  22. 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.
  23. 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.
  24. Low, Elaine (July 8, 2019). "SideCar, Fox Entertainment's Content Development Accelerator, Names Exec Team". Variety. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  25. Duran, Paulina (August 5, 2019). "Murdoch's Fox Corp to buy fintech Credible Labs in $397 million deal". Reuters. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
  26. Andreeva, Nellie (August 6, 2019). "Fox Entertainment Acquires 'Bob's Burgers' Animation House Bento Box". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 6, 2019.
  27. Flint, Joe (August 6, 2019). "Fox to Buy Bento Box, the Animation House Behind 'Bob's Burgers'". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  28. Baysinger, Tim (March 17, 2020). "Fox Buys Ad-Supported Streaming Service Tubi in $440 Million Cash Deal". TheWrap. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  29. Goldsmith, Jill (April 20, 2020). "Fox Closes Purchase Of Tubi In Day Of Streaming Deals". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  30. Lafayette, Jon (October 2, 2018). "'New Fox' Announces Top Executive Appointments". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
  31. Holloway, Daniel (October 19, 2018). "Charlie Collier Named Fox Entertainment CEO; Gary Newman Exits". Variety. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
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