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Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Fox News Media, known best for shows led by Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham, is placing new emphasis on programming that relies more heavily on Kevin Costner, weather emergencies and Greg Gutfeld. In a meeting with advertisers slated to be held Tuesday, executives at the Fox Corp.-backed operation, will spotlight a growing array of lifestyle content, while continuing to nod to the political programming that draws some of its networks’ biggest audiences. Among the Fox News Media executives scheduled to be on hand were Suzanne Scott, the CEO, and Jay Wallace, president and executive editor. “If you take a look at our overall audience across all of Fox News Media, 40% comes from lifestyle – sports, weather, entertainment offerings,” says Jeff Collins, executive vice president of advertsing sales for Fox News Media. “We just want to reiterate to our clients the depth and breadth of this type of content that we have outside of just hard news.”

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor The battle for cable-news viewers is coming to March Madness. CNN intends to run a new promo during the heavily watched NCAA men’s basketball tournament that throws a sharp verbal elbow at Fox News Channel and the legal defamation case filed against it by Dominion Voting Systems. The promos will air starting this weekend on TNT, TBS, TruTV and CBS, all of which carry the games under a joint rights agreement held by the owners of those networks, Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery, which is also the parent of CNN. Fox News Channel is not mentioned in the promo script, reviewed by Variety, but the references are clear. “What should you expect of a news network?” asks the narrator. “Some bury the truth, while we fight to reveal the facts. The only side we are on is yours.” Viewers see images of CNN correspondents and anchors such as Abby Phillip and Clarissa Ward.

, ensuring that LA remains the capital of the global entertainment industry,” the splash site for the project stated.The studio has a rich history. Born out of the 20th Century Fox backlot, it’s seen productions from “Miracle of 34th Street” to “The Sound of Music” to “The Simpsons,” the longest running primetime series ever, now in season 34.

Fox Corp. is planning a major building overhaul and expansion of its Century City lot including nine new soundstages as well as a media campus, office space and focus on related transportation infrastructure.

Fox News Channel viewers are less trusting of the cable network in the wake of publicly disclosed text messages and emails from Fox executives and on-air personalities, according to a new survey.  But only 9% of Fox News viewers say they aren’t watching the network as much as they used to, per research provided exclusively to Variety Intelligence Platform by consumer insights specialists Maru Group. (Click to an expanded subscriber version for full results.) A representative for Fox News told VIP+, “There has been no impact to advertising, with no advertisers dropping or pausing.” 

Lachlan Murdoch, in his first public comments about a defamation lawsuit against Fox News that’s been grabbing headlines, said he believes the network is even handed and the “noise” is more reflective of the nation’s divided politics than anything else.

Dominion Voting Systems and Fox offered dueling views of defamation law in their latest filings, as each side seeks a summary judgment ruling that could forestall a planned trial in April.

A huge release of text messages, emails and deposition transcripts dropped today in the Dominion vs. Fox litigation sheds further light on the scramble among Fox News personalities and Fox Corp. executives to respond to the backlash in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election and then the repercussions after the attack on the Capitol on January 6th.

UTA has hired Fox and Verizon vet Claudia Russo as SVP of corporate communications.

Donald Trump continued to rail against Fox Corp. chair Rupert Murdoch following the release of documents in Dominion Voting Systems’ lawsuit against Fox News.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries seized on the latest revelations from Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation lawsuit against Fox News, as they called on Rupert Murdoch to curb hosts from spreading election conspiracy theories.

Donald Trump went on the attack against Fox Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch following the latest revelations from Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation lawsuit against the media company.

Rupert Murdoch said in a recent deposition that he “would have liked us to be stronger in denouncing” Donald Trump’s false claims about the 2020 presidential election, conspiracy theories that the Fox Corp. executive chairman at once called “bulls— and damaging.”

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Fox Corp. sought to tamp down furor around a series of implicating quotes and texts culled from corporate executives and Fox News anchors, in the newest filing, part of a closely watched defamation lawsuit from voting-technology firm Dominion Voting Systems. Fox Corp. and Fox News Channel made the case in two filings in the Superior Court in Delaware that many of the colorful utterances from Fox News stars such as Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity and even some from Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch were beyond the scope of Dominion’s case, and urged the court to reject the company’s call for a summary judgement, or a ruling in Dominon’s favor that would negate the need for a trial. Dominion is suing Fox for $1.6 billion in damages it alleges it is owed after Fox News made false claims about the Dominion’s actions and influence on the 2020 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. Smartmatic, a voting technology company, has filed a massive $2.7 billion suit against Fox News. At issue in the suits, are allegations that Fox News falsely claimed the companies had rigged the election, repeated items about the matter and refused to engage in efforts to set the record straight. The 2020 election was not fixed and its results were certified by multiple legal processes.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor David Zaslav sounds tired of taking lumps. After months of cost cutting, write-downs, and getting pilloried among Hollywood natives for killing projects, the Warner Bros. Discovery chief showed off some new truculence, making the case that while his newly-merged company has been having a tough time, so too were others. “‘Last year was a year of restructuring,” said Zaslav, during a call with investors Thursday. “This year will be a year of building.” Over the course of an hour, Zasalv and Gunnar Wiedenfels, Warner’s chief financial officer, made the case that their company was just as well-equipped as any of its rivals — perhaps even more so — to withstand a stormy era during which media companies are pressed to grow their streaming operations but maintain profitability. Zaslav elbowed Netflix for releasing all of the episodes for a program’s cycle all at once; suggested that a move to launch new “Lord of the Rings” movies would take away some of the momentum that Amazon had enjoyed from its launch of a series based on the novels; and told listeners Warner Bros. Discovery could launch an ad-supported streaming service without having to buy an outside asset, as Fox Corp. and Paramount Global had. “We can create a Tubi or a Pluto without having to buy anybody,” he boasted.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor The Super Bowl is over. The path to the next one is just beginning. Before most football fans put the Kansas City Chiefs’ 38-35 defeat of the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII behind them, Paramount Global wants to get them to look ahead to the next big NFL spectacular. CBS and various cable networks owned by Paramount Global will Monday evening air a new promo for CBS Sports’ coverage of Super Bowl LVIII in 2024. The spot shows a CBS Sports bus hitting the road on its way to cover the event, scheduled to be broadcast on both CBS and Paramount+ on February 11, 2024, from Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada (one has to assume the bus will take the scenic route, given the substantial time frame). A song from Green Day plays in the background.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Tubi pulled a FAST one on Super Bowl viewers on Sunday night. Tubi, the free, ad-supported streaming television (FAST), ran a clever trompe l’oeil ad that made it look as if viewers’ TVs were changing the channel right in the middle of the climactic end of the Eagles-Chiefs game. The 15-second spot, which ran in the fourth quarter of Fox’s Super Bowl LVII telecast, starts by throwing back to the game’s announcing duo of Kevin Burkhardt and Greg Olsen. (Tubi is owned by Fox Corp.) As Burkhardt and Olsen banter in generalities about the game, an unseen hand pulls up a Tubi on-demand menu on the TV — and after a couple of audible blips, selects “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” the 2005 movie starring Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, before the Tubi logo flashes on the screen.

Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., home to media properties including the Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones and HarperCollins, announced as it released disappointing quarterly results that it is laying off 5% of its workforce.

Fox Corp. matched Wall Street expectations for its fiscal second quarter, powered by NFL football in the U.S. and football at the World Cup.

Tom Brady told Fox Sports Colin Cowherd on the air this this morning that he will begin his job as broadcaster at Fox during the 2024 NFL season. He spoke about the importance of processing all he’s been through as a reason for taking a gap year.

Warner Bros. Discovery’s plan to distribute Westworld and other key shows via FAST channels has materialized.

News Corp. and Fox Corp., both controlled by Rupert Murdoch, have abandoned a potential merger after a special committee determined that “a combination is not optimal for shareholders.”

For a second straight year, YouTube will host its annual Brandcast pitch to video ad buyers during the heart of what had been a week dominated by traditional TV network upfronts in New York.

AMC Networks is choosing to host an in-person event during the spring upfront season, confirming plans for a presentation for about 200 to 250 guests.

Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. and Fox Corp. have signed 20-year renewals of their leases in their longtime shared headquarters in New York at 1211 Avenue of the Americas.

Fox CFO Steven Tomsic promised that “whatever happens” as its board considers merging with News Corp., creating value for shareholders “will be at the forefront of everyone’s mind.”

Fox Corp. and DirecTV agreed to a multi-year carriage renewal, agreeing to extend talks for several hours beyond the prior deal’s expiration in order to avoid a blackout of several networks and local stations.

A few days before the expiration of a carriage deal with DirecTV, Fox Corp. is warning viewers of its networks about a potential blackout as the companies continue to negotiate.

A London-based investor in Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. and Fox Corp. has reportedly expressed its opposition to the companies’ potential reunification.

AMC Networks followed the discouraging pattern of media and tech companies reporting advertising downturns in the third quarter.

President Joe Biden once again gave a speech warning of the future of democracy, keying in on some GOP candidates’ refusal to commit to accepting the election results.

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.

Fox Corp. rode a surge in political ad spending and continued growth in streaming in its fiscal first quarter, posting financial results above Wall Street analysts’ expectations.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor CANNES – The newly constituted senior entertainment team at Fox Corp. came to Mipcom this year with checkbooks in hand. The trio of executives who offered the keynote address Monday evening at the international content conference were blunt in telling the crowd that they came to make some new friends around the world and strike some deals. The company is bucking the trend in media toward direct-to-consumer subscription platforms. Fox is putting its resources into content and IP that can travel around the world and be adaptable in many forms. “While others are trying to hide their content behind paywalls, we are doing the opposite,” said Rob Wade, who was promoted this month to CEO of Fox Entertainment (“I’m 10 days in to the job,” he noted with a smile on stage). “We see the potential of working with (outside) networks, producers and distributors to be able to get our content out there further.”

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.

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.