Company type | Public |
---|---|
ISIN | |
Industry | Media |
Predecessor | 21st Century Fox |
Founded | March 19, 2019 |
Founder | Rupert Murdoch |
Headquarters | 1211 Avenue of the Americas , , U.S. |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people |
|
Products | Television programs web portals |
Services | Broadcasting Licensing Streaming Television |
Revenue | US$13.98 billion (2024) |
US$1.837 billion (2024) | |
US$1.501 billion (2024) | |
Total assets | US$21.97 billion (2024) |
Total equity | US$10.71 billion (2024) |
Owner | Murdoch family (17% equity; 39% voting power) |
Number of employees | 10,200 (2024) |
Divisions | |
Website | foxcorporation |
Footnotes /references Financials as of fiscal year endedJune 30,2024. References: [update] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] |
Fox Corporation (commonly referred to as Fox Corp) 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 and was split from News Corporation in 2013, alongside 21CF.
On September 21, 2023, Rupert Murdoch announced that he was stepping down as the chairman of Fox Corp, effective November 2023. [13]
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]
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 former News Corporation, which spun off its publishing assets in 2013), including 20th Century Fox and FX Networks, 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 Corp 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 Corp 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 Corp's board at this time. [3]
Under the terms of the acquisition, Disney will phase out the Fox brand usage by 2024. [27]
Fox Corp 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 Corp 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 Corp acquired Credible Labs for $397 million and animation studio Bento Box Entertainment for $50 million. [32] [33] [34]
On April 20, 2020, Fox Corp acquired streaming service Tubi for $440 million. [35] [36]
In September 2021, Fox Corp 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 Corp acquired the film and television production studio MarVista Entertainment. [38] [39]
In September 2022, Fox Corp 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. 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. [48] [49]
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. [50]
Keith Rupert Murdoch is an Australian-born American business magnate, investor, and media mogul. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world, including in the UK, in Australia, in the US, book publisher HarperCollins, and the television broadcasting channels Sky News Australia and Fox News. He was also the owner of Sky, 21st Century Fox, and the now-defunct News of the World. With a net worth of US$21.7 billion as of 2 March 2022, Murdoch is the 31st richest person in the United States and the 71st richest in the world according to Forbes magazine. Due to his extensive wealth influence over media and politics, Murdoch has been described as an oligarch.
Sky Group Limited is a British media and telecommunications conglomerate, which is a subsidiary of the American conglomerate Comcast, and headquartered in London, England. It has operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy. Sky is Europe's largest media company and pay-TV broadcaster by revenue, with 23 million subscribers and more than 31,000 employees as of 2019. The company is primarily involved in satellite television, producing and broadcasting. The current CEO is Dana Strong.
News Corporation was an American multinational mass media corporation controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in New York City. Prior to its split in 2013, it was the world's largest media company in terms of total assets and the world's fourth largest media group in terms of revenue. It had become a media powerhouse since its inception, dominating the news, television, film, and print industries.
Comcast Corporation, formerly known as Comcast Holdings, is an American multinational telecommunications and media conglomerate incorporated and headquartered in Philadelphia.
Major film studios are production and distribution companies that release a substantial number of films annually and consistently command a significant share of box office revenue in a given market. In the American and international markets, the major film studios, often known simply as the majors or the Big Five studios, are commonly regarded as the five diversified media conglomerates whose various film production and distribution subsidiaries collectively command approximately 80 to 85% of U.S. box office revenue. The term may also be applied more specifically to the primary motion picture business subsidiary of each respective conglomerate.
Searchlight Pictures, Inc. is an American independent film production and distribution company, which since 2019 is owned by Walt Disney Studios sub-division of Disney Entertainment, a business segment of the Walt Disney Company. Founded in 1994 as Fox Searchlight Pictures for 20th Century Fox, the studio focuses primarily on producing, distributing, and acquiring specialty films.
James Rupert Jacob Murdoch is an American businessman. He is the younger son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch and the former chief executive officer (CEO) of 21st Century Fox from 2015 to 2019.
NBCUniversal Media, LLC is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate that is a subsidiary of Comcast and is headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan in New York City.
Disney Networks Group Asia Pacific was a Hong Kong–based commercial broadcasting company operating multiple specialty television channels. The company was founded in 1991 by Hong Kong businessman Richard Li.
Lachlan Keith Murdoch is an American and Australian businessman and mass media heir. He is the son of the media tycoon Rupert Murdoch. He is the executive chairman of Nova Entertainment, chairman of News Corp, executive chairman and CEO of Fox Corporation. In 2023, he was listed 33rd on the list of Australia's wealthiest people, with his wealth estimated at A$3.35 billion.
Fox Sports Interactive Media, formerly known as News Corp. Digital Media and Fox Interactive Media and Fox Sports Digital Media, is a subsidiary of Fox Sports Media Group which operates Fox Sports' online properties in the United States.
Fox Networks Group (FNG), formerly known as Fox International Channels (FIC), was the television networks division of News Corporation and later 21st Century Fox that operated from 1993 to 2021. It oversaw the production, broadcasting and distribution of the Fox, Fox Sports, National Geographic and BabyTV brands in the United States and over 1.725 billion households globally. The division also operated video on demand services Fox Play and Fox Plus.
Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc., which did business as 21st Century Fox (21CF), was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It was one of the two companies formed on June 28, 2013, following a spin-off of the publishing assets of News Corporation as News Corp.
News Corporation, operating as News Corp, is an American mass media and publishing company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The company was formed on June 28, 2013, following a spin-off of the media outlets of the first News Corporation as 21st Century Fox (21CF). Operating across digital real estate information, news media, book publishing, and cable television, News Corp's notable assets include Dow Jones & Company, which is the publisher of The Wall Street Journal; News UK, publisher of The Sun and The Times; News Corp Australia; and REA Group, operator of realestate.com.au, realtor.com, and book publisher HarperCollins.
The acquisition of Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc. by The Walt Disney Company was announced on December 14, 2017, and was completed on March 20, 2019. Among other key assets, the acquisition included the 20th Century Fox film and blue television studios, U.S. cable channels such as FX, Fox Networks Group, a 73% stake in National Geographic Partners, Indian television broadcaster Star India, and a 30% stake in Hulu. Most remaining assets were not part of the deal and they were spun off into a new company called Fox Corporation on March 19, 2019. Other 21st Century Fox assets such as the Fox Sports Networks and Sky were divested and sold off to Sinclair and Comcast, respectively.
Star China Media, also known as Star (CM) Holdings, is a Chinese media company owned by China Media Capital. The company operates television channels Xing Kong and Channel V Mainland China, and maintains Fortune Star film library.
The Fox Entertainment Group (FEG) was an American entertainment company specialized in filmed entertainment owned by 21st Century Fox. Following the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney, the group's assets were dispersed to various Disney units. The film studios 20th Century Fox, Fox Searchlight Pictures and Fox 2000 Pictures were transferred to Walt Disney Studios, while Fox Star Studios transferred to Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer & International.
The 2019 merger of CBS Corporation and Viacom was announced on August 13, 2019, and was completed on December 4, 2019. The merger of equals reunited CBS Corporation and Viacom into a single company known as ViacomCBS after their separation from the first incarnation of Viacom on December 31, 2005. Both companies were owned by the theater company National Amusements, which remains the owner of the merged entity.
The succession of Rupert Murdoch describes a court case relating to which of American media magnate Rupert Murdoch's children will gain power and influence over his business interests, in particular News Corp and Fox Corporation. Since Murdoch's retirement and as of September 2024, these have been headed by his eldest son Lachlan Murdoch. The case is known as In the Matter of the Doe 1 Trust.