Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch declined to directly address deliberations about a potential reunion with corporate sibling News Corp. during Fox’s quarterly earnings call, but he readily acknowledged the importance of scale in the media business.
15.10.2022 - 00:43 / variety.com
Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Rupert Murdoch is considering getting the whole gang together again — a new combination of the two big media companies his family controls. Murdoch has proposed an exploration of the potential for a merger of Fox Corp. and News Corp., two entities his family split apart in the summer of 2013. according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed by the latter. The Wall Street Journal previously reported the decision, which would be mulled by special committees of each company’s board of directors. News Corp. said that it “formed a Special Committee composed of independent and disinterested members of the Board to begin exploring a potential combination with Fox Corporation” after it received “letters from K. Rupert Murdoch and the Murdoch Family Trust.” There is no guarantee a merger will result from the discussions, the company said.
A re-combination of the assets would once again pair the Fox broadcast network, Fox News Channel and Fox Sports with the Harper Collins publishing company, the Dow Jones & Co. financial-publishing business and various newspaper holdings around the world. Even so, the entities are smaller than they once were. Fox sold off its cable and studio assets to Walt Disney Co. in 2017 and News Corp. no longer includes such operations as News America Marketing, which it sold to a private-equity firm in 2020. The possibility of a new merger of the two entities comes as traditional media companies are under pressure to gain new scale and heft as they face competition from tech giants like Amazon, Apple and Netflix that can distribute content digitally and across the globe without the distribution restrictions that shackle linear cable and
Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch declined to directly address deliberations about a potential reunion with corporate sibling News Corp. during Fox’s quarterly earnings call, but he readily acknowledged the importance of scale in the media business.
Billy Nomates has shared her latest single ‘saboteur forcefield’ – you can watch the accompanying video for the track below.The song is the latest to be previewed from Bristol-based songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Tor Maries’ second studio album ‘CACTI’, which is set for release on January 13 via Invada Records.Speaking about ‘saboteur forcefield’, Maries said: “I think it’s about the inevitable feeble fight against feeling and progress.”You can watch the video for Billy Nomates’ ‘saboteur forcefield’ below.Billy Nomates has also announced a new set of UK and European tour dates for March and April 2023 – you can see her upcoming tour schedule below and find tickets here.March 202314 – Grand Mix, Lille, France15 – Petit Bain, Paris, France16 – L’astrolabe, Orleans, France17 – Rockschool Barbey, Bordeaux, France20 – El Sol, Madrid, Spain22 – La Nau, Barcelona, Spain24 – Le Périscope, Lyon, France25 – Covo Club, Bologna, Italy27 – Magnolia, Milan, Italy28 – Bogen F, Zurich, Switzerland29 – Milla, Munich, Germany31 – Badehaus, Berlin, GermanyApril 20231 – Loppen, Copenhagen, Denmark2 – Molotow, Hamburg, Germany4 – Blueshell, Cologne, Germany5 – Tolhuistuin, Amsterdam, Netherlands6 – Botanique Orangerie, Brussels, Belgium17 – Tramshed, Cardiff19 – Rescue Rooms, Nottingham20 – New Century Hall, Manchester21 – Stylus, Leeds22 – St Lukes, Glasgow24 – Boiler Shop, Newcastle25 – Institute 1, Birmingham27 – Kentish Town Forum, London28 – Chalk, Brighton29 – Marble Factory, BristolPrior to that, Billy Nomates will tour in the UK next month – you can see those dates below.November22 – Village Underground, London (SOLD OUT)23 – The Bullingdon, Oxford24 – MASH, Cambridge26 – Norwich Arts Centre, Norwich (SOLD OUT)27 –
Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Rachel Maddow isn’t on MSNBC’s schedule Monday through Friday any longer, spurring the need for some of her top behind-the-scenes allies to find other things to do. Cory Gnazzo, who has served as the executive producer of “The Rachel Maddow Show” since 2014 and who has been with the show since its launch in 2008, is taking on a new role as senior executive producer at the network. He will continue to shepherd Maddow’s Monday broadcast on MSNBC and represent her various projects to NBCUniversal. Maddow struck a deal with the media conglomerate in 2021 that calls for the creation of various podcasts, documentaries and more, while keeping her tethered to MSNBC once a week and for special reports.
Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Chiney Ogwumike has big plans after striking a new deal with ESPN that extends her stay there and is certain to expand her presence. The 6′ 4″ Los Angeles Sparks forward is gearing up to start calling NBA games for ESPN, adding to her regular presence on “NBA Today” and “NBA Countdown.” She has many other duties, including a thriving career in the WNBA, where she was the first overall pick in the 2014 WNBA Draft from Stanford University, and the 2014 WNBA Rookie of the Year and a two-time WNBA All-Star. She is also the vice president of the WNBA Players Association. “We don’t have many women analysts outside of Doris Burke calling NBA games,” says Ogwumike, in an interview, adding: “That’s the next challenge for me. I’ve called women’s basketball games. I know how to call a basketball game, but I like to make sure to master my craft before I jump into another one.”
Instagram Stories to thank her followers for their support, following the announcement that she would be joining the season 14 cast of. “Good morning, I’m a little tired today. I just wanted to say a really heartfelt thank you,” the 54-year-old told the camera. “I’ve had the most incredible messages from people I haven’t heard from in a really long time and it feels so nice.
Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor The anchors of Fox Business Network have long delivered the latest business headlines. Now some may be getting ready to debate them, too. Fox Business is preparing to launch a new discussion program that aims to emulate some of the biggest programing hits in recent years on its sibling, Fox News Channel, where so-called “roundtable” shows have fast become a staple of its schedule. The shows can serve to develop personalities who find themselves leading their own hours within a few years, as has been the case for Greg Gutfeld, who helped launch the late-afternoon program “The Five” and now also leads a late-night program at 11 p.m.
Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor OpenAP was built by traditional TV companies hoping to get their collective hands around new ad-tech that is generating millions of advertising dollars Now they are reaching outside of their circle. The advertising consortium, owned by NBCUniversal, Fox Corp., Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery, has enlisted an investment from Snowflake Ventures, a company that specializes in cloud-based data and analytics. Snowflake will be the first company from outside the traditional TV business to have ownership in Open AP. “This investment from Snowflake is really a testament to the publishers saying, ‘We know this is where the industry is going,'” says David Levy, CEO of Open AP, in an interview.
Let the games continue. Altice USA and Fox have reached a new carriage agreement just before a Friday midnight deadline that would have blacked out Optimum programming for New York area viewers.
Media mogul Rupert Murdoch is exploring a re-combination of the family’s Fox Corp. and News Corp., which split into two separately companies nearly a decade ago. The boards of directors of both have set up committees to examine the possibility.
Friday report in The Wall Street Journal.The Journal – itself part of the News Corp side of Murdoch’s holdings – says the discussions are at an “early stage,” with special exploratory board committees forming on both sides. A merger would bring the media empires back under one roof since Murdoch split his holdings in 2013 into News Corp, which is primarily publishing, and Fox Corp., mostly TV.Murdoch, 91, is currently executive chair of both companies.
Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Subscribers to Altice USA’s Optimum cable service face the prospect of days ahead without Fox’s broadcasts of NFL football and post-season Major League Baseball if contract talks between the two sides fail. Fox is starting to tell Altice subscribers via messages on its broadcast stations and cable networks that they face a potential blackout of programming. Fox and Altice have been in discussions for the past several weeks, according to a person familiar with the matter, but remain “materially apart” on terms. The companies’ current contract is slated to end at midnight Thursday, this person says. Meanwhile, Altice believes Fox is seeking rate increases that would be onerous to subscribers.
Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Trevor Noah’s days at Comedy Central’s “Daily Show” are numbered. The comedian, who is in his seventh year of hosting the signature program of the Paramount Global network, is set to depart after a final appearance on the program on Thursday, December 8th. The timeline gives Noah a chance to anchor the program as its cast makes its way to Atlanta for a midterm-election special, and to look back at his tenure on the series. Comedy Central will place the show on hiatus after Noah’s farewell, and plans to bring it back on Tuesday, January 17 as part of what the network called a “reinvention.” Comedy Central did not name a successor for Noah, but is believed to be considering some of the show’s correspondents as part of its deliberations.
Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Fox Corp. is expanding its efforts to track viewers who might toggle between its Tubi video-streaming hub and its mainstream broadcast outlet. The media company has struck a multi-year deal with Innovid that will utilize the ad-tech and measurement firm’s technology to push Fox’s efforts to find new ways to gauge the performance of commercials placed on its media properties, no matter the venue. “As more viewers engage with content across multiple screens, it remains vital that we continue to work with our ad partners and provide them with the necessary data and insights that further display the value of converged TV and the engaged audiences and concentrated impact FOX delivers,” said Dan Callahan, senior vice president of data strategy and sales innovation at Fox, in a prepared statement. “Our partnership with Innovid is another step forward in expanding and delivering cross-platform measurement solutions that further align with our advertisers’ objectives.”
Mila Kunis is explaining the “logical” approach she took to understand her complicated character in her new film, “Luckiest Girl Alive”. ET’s Nischelle Turner spoke with Kunis before the thriller hit Netflix on Friday, where she shared how she “reverse engineered” the role before letting the emotions of the film take over.
Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Fox Nation is reopening the 1977 case of three young Girl Scouts who were murdered during a camping trip outside Tulsa, OK, just months after Hulu examined it in a documentary miniseries. Fox Nation’s “Girl Scout Murders” will examine new revelations about the case that have recently surfaced due to Faith Phillips, an author who has written a book about the crime. In June of 1977, the bodies of three young girls, Lori Lee Farmer, 8; Michelle Guse, 9; and Doris Denise Milner, 10, of Tulsa, were discovered after they had been abducted from their tent during the night. Two different men have been identified as the potential killer over the years, but one was acquitted and the other was never found guilty by trial
While appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live! during its stint in Brooklyn, Ukranian-born actress Mia Kunis was booed by the show's audience. On the program to promote her new Netflix thriller, "Luckiest Girl Alive," Kunis began lamenting over a near wardrobe malfunction, as she did not have a bra or underwear to go with her outfit, which featured a transparent dress. Kimmel, who typically tapes his show from Los Angeles, said to Kunis, "You seem like you could be a New Yorker, but you're not a New Yorker, right?" As the 39-year-old began to answer, she was immediately taken aback by someone in the crowd booing her, to which she retorted, "What? Who booed?" Mila Kunis appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and was booed by fans in Brooklyn.
President Joe Biden warned of the “assault” on American institutions and talked of the threat of Vladimir Putin using nuclear weapons at an issue-heavy fundraiser on Thursday at the New York home of James Murdoch, the son of Rupert Murdoch.
Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor In a world where TV viewers switch from a TV screen to a mobile one in an instant, every second counts. VideoAmp, one of a group of measurement companies that has worked with TV networks to devise measuring technologies that can serve as an alternative to Nielsen’s, is releasing a new product that will give advertisers and media companies the ability to examine viewership on a second-by-second basis. With the new concept at their disposal, says Josh Chasin, VideoAmp’s chief measurability officer, advertisers might determine exactly which position in a commercial break would be the most advantageous to have, or discover whether having additional commercials in the same program drives more reach among viewers.