Fox Corp. Strikes Ad-Tech Pact With Operative Media

Fox Corp.'s stock earned an upgrade on Wednesday thanks to the sports rights cost "clarity" provided by the recent NFL rights renewal andits role as "a potential participant in media M&A." Wells Fargo analyst Steven Cahall upgradedthe shares of Fox, led by CEO Lachlan Murdoch, from "underweight" to "equal weight" and his price target by $14 to $41 writing in a report: "We've historically been bearish on sports as rights tend to grow in excess of linear revenues, and Fox has been the media stock

Sharna Burgess, 35, and Brian Austin Green, 47, have only been Instagram official as a couple since Jan., but she’s already influencing him for the better. In addition to being “the real deal” to the actor, she’s been helping to “improve his relationship” with ex Megan Fox, 34.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorEach weeknight, Fox News Channel’s primetime opinion hosts seek to own the libs. Greg Gutfeld says he wants to own some laughs.In an unorthodox maneuver, executives at the Fox Corp.-owned cable-news outlet will explore whether jokes and satire can capture a crowd after 11 p.m.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorGeneral Motors, one of the nation’s biggest advertisers, said Thursday it would quadruple the percentage of its advertising dollars that go to Black-owned media outlets between now and 2025.GM’s statement is a sign of the scrutiny and pressure that corporate giants are facing to  spread the wealth of their corporate spending around a wider array of firms.GM said it intended to increase the allocation of its ad spending from its current 2% with Black-owned media

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorAnchor Bret Baier has renewed his contract with Fox News Channel, extending a pact that was last negotiated in 2019.The deal will keep Baier at the network for the next few years, and will maintain his roles as anchor and executive editor of the Fox Corp. network’s “Special Report” and as the outlet’s chief political anchor.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorFox Nation seems eager to expand its chief export.The streaming service, originally conceived as a place for “super fans” of Fox News Channel, has in recent months been filling its digital shelves with a show led by Nancy Grace; faith-based shows tied to Easter; and vintage movies and TV series.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorKayleigh McEnany, the former White House Press Secretary during the Trump administration, will take on a regular anchoring job at Fox News Channel, co-hosting the daytime program, “Outnumbered,” a move that helps cement the Fox Corporation-backed outlet’s Trump ties in the aftermath of the 2020 election.Starting April 6, McEnany will appear regularly on the program along with Harris Faulkner, who has been a regular presence on the show since its launch in 2014,

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorLara Trump, the Trump family member whose representation of her famous father-in-law helped her gain traction in conservative circles, has joined Fox News Channel as a contributor.“I sort of feel like I’ve been an unofficial member of the team for so long,” Trump said on “Fox & Friends” Monday morning.

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Fox News is the latest legal target of Dominion Voting Systems. The company has sued the Fox Corp. TV network for $1.6 billion for spreading false information about the 2020 election.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorDominion Voting Systems filed a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News, alleging that the Fox Corporation-backed cable outlet made false claims about the company’s actions and influence on the 2020 presidential election. It is the second legal proceeding made against Fox News for its coverage of the aftermath of the 2020 race for the White House.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorTV news is latching on to an old standby to help it gain attention in a new — and often less flashy — news cycle.Coverage of the court trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged with causing the death of George Floyd, will surface Monday across many mainstream TV outlets. Some of it will be gavel-to-gavel, the sort of thing that echoes the news media’s fascination with the O.J.

Jeff Taylor, who joined Fox Corp. in 2019 as EVP and chief litigation counsel, has been promoted to general counsel.

The National Football League has reached broad new agreements with its television partners, including The Walt Disney Co., NBCUniversal, Fox Corp., ViacomCBS and Amazon. The new deals will begin with the 2023 NFL season, and run through the 2033 season.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorThe NFL season ended weeks ago, but some of the media’s biggest players have been scrambling to keep professional football in the spotlight.Under a series of critically important rights deals unveiled Thursday between the National Football League and some of the nation’s biggest media companies, “Thursday Night Football” will no longer be shown on broadcast TV and Walt Disney’s ABC will air the Super Bowl for the first time in more than 15 years.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorThe chief legal officer of Fox Corporation tried to throw cold water on growing speculation that he has taken on a broader role at the company, making decisions about the company on behalf of its CEO Lachlan Murdoch,.In an interview with David Lat, writer of the Substack newsletter “Original Jurisdiction,” Viet Dinh, Fox Corp.’s chief legal and policy officer, demurred at recent stories in The New York Times and Financial Times suggesting he’s taken more control

Fox Corp. has informed its employees that the earliest date they will be returning to the office will be September 7, right after Labor Day.

Elaine Low Senior TV WriterIn an internal memo to Fox Corporation employees Tuesday morning, Lachlan Murdoch told staff that the company is deferring its next possible phase one reopening date to “no earlier than September 7, immediately after Labor Day.”The company had previously set a return-to-work date no earlier than April of this year.More to come… 

Fox Corp.-owned animation studio Bento Box Entertainment is partnering with Australian television and film production company Princess Pictures to form Princess Bento Studio, a new animation studio that will produce animated content out of its headquarters in Melbourne, Australia.