Fox Corp Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

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.

As the fall sports calendar reaches a peak moment, especially in New York with the Yankees in the playoffs and the Jets finally on a winning path, Fox Corp. has warned Altice customers that a carriage fight could knock sports and other programming off the air.

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 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.”

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Rob Wade has been promoted to CEO of Fox Entertainment following the exit of former chief Charlie Collier. “Since the formation of Fox Entertainment, Rob has been an integral part of the leadership team responsible for delivering on its long-term strategy of creating an independent media company built on broadcast, developing an owned content portfolio and maintaining a disciplined in-house infrastructure,” Fox Corp. executive chief and CEO Lachlan Murdoch said in a statement Thursday. “Given Rob’s sharp creative instincts and proven operational acumen, he is well-suited to lead Fox Entertainment in what promises to be an exciting next chapter in its rich history.”

NPR.The voting tech company argues that by questioning Pirro, it reaches the legal requirement in proving that Fox showed “actual malice” when it repeatedly broadcast and amplified rumors and lies made by Donald Trump, other right-wing personalities and far-right QAnon conspiracy theorists that Dominion tried to throw the presidential race to Joe Biden.“Discovery has revealed that…Fox News host Jeanine Pirro help[ed] spread the verifiably false yet devastating lies against Dominion,” according to documents filed Thursday in a Delaware court by Dominion lawyers. Pirro, however, is not being named as a defendant in the suit against Fox Corp.According to an Aug.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Charlie Collier, after more than two decades in broadcasting and cable TV, has jumped ship from the traditional television biz — betting that TV’s future is all about streaming. As first reported by Variety, Collier is leaving his post as CEO of Fox Entertainment, departing from the Murdochs’ fiefdom to head up Roku Media, where he’ll oversee content and ad sales for the Roku Channel starting next month. For Roku, recruiting the high-profile TV exec who brought such hits as “Mad Men,” “Breaking Bad” and “The Walking Dead” to the small screen can be viewed as a shift toward more strategic — rather than tactical — spending on original content. Not incidentally, Collier also is familiar with the content economics of the free-streaming space: Fox Corp. spent $440 million to buy Tubi in 2020, which has served as a monetization outlet for Fox TV programming.

EJ Panaligan editor Disney, Amazon Studios, Fox Corp., Warner Bros. Discovery and other major Hollywood players are pledging support for the Roybal Film and Television Production Magnet, a major educational outreach initiative championed last year by George Clooney and others. Paramount and NBCUniversal/Telemundo Enterprises are also signing on to become founding partners of the Los Angeles Unified School District magnet facility. These companies join previously announced founding partners History Channel/A+E Networks, Netflix and Sony Pictures Entertainment. The group has committed to providing more than $4 million in funding for the school, which opened in August with 150 students at the Edward G. Roybal Learning Complex in downtown Los Angeles.

Total executive compensation declined for top executives at Fox Corp. in fiscal 2022, compared with a year earlier, according to an SEC filing.

SEC filing. These marked downgrades from $31.1 million and $27.7 million, from the year prior. Also revealed in the SEC filing Friday was that Lachlan signed a contract extension last year that will see him continue to lead Fox Corp.

reported.Jeanine Pirro, Steve Doocy and producers of Fox News shows have already given their testimony, according to The Times. Dobbs, who no longer works for the network, will be questioned in Delaware Superior Court on Tuesday; Hannity is due in court on Wednesday, and Carlson will go Friday.“We are confident we will prevail as freedom of the press is foundational to our democracy and must be protected, in addition to the damages claims being outrageous, unsupported and not rooted in sound financial analysis, serving as nothing more than a flagrant attempt to deter our journalists from doing their jobs,” a Fox Corp.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Fox Corp. unveiled its third annual Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) report Wednesday, revealing the company’s approach to corporate giving, environmental, social and governance, employee benefits and resources, diversity and inclusion, and data security during its fiscal year 2022, which Variety has obtained exclusively. Covering corporate activities from June 2021-2022, the new Fox CSR report showcases the Rupert Murdoch-founded company’s philanthropic “Fox Forward” initiatives that focus on “serving veterans, active-duty military members and first responders; enhancing educational opportunities and providing support for underserved students and teachers; providing global disaster relief assistance; and investing in local communities through partnerships, financial donations, volunteer efforts and magnification across Fox’s media assets,” per the media giant.

Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch filed suit against Australian news site Crikey on Tuesday over an opinion column that connected the Murdochs to the siege of the U.S. Capitol on January 6th.

EXCLUSIVE: Sistas alumna Novi Brown and Terrell Carter (Empire) are set to star in horror thriller Alone In The Dark, a Tubi original movie set for premiere on Fox’s free ad-supported streaming service in October.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorFox Corp. operates the only one of the four major U.S.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorMany media companies have expressed concern about whether Madison Avenue will continue to keep spending as the nation worries about a possible recession. At Fox Corp., for now at least, advertisers have continued to loosen their purse strings.Fox Corp.

Fox has completed a multi-year renewal of its distribution agreement with Verizon for its Fios TV platform.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorWWE has hired Craig Stimmel, most recently head of global brands at Snap, to head sales and partnerships at the wrestling entertainment company.He replaces Claudine Lilien, who exited WWE earlier this summer after serving a little over a year as SVP, head of global sales and partnerships.Stimmel will report to WWE chairwoman and co-CEO Stephanie McMahon and WWE co-CEO Nick Khan.His hiring comes after former CEO and chairman Vince McMahon on July 22 announced he was retiring amid ongoing investigations into allegations that he paid millions of dollars to multiple women to keep quiet about alleged affairs and misconduct. (WWE said it will revise financial statements going back to 2019 to account for $14.6 million of “certain payments” that Vince McMahon made during his tenure as chairman and CEO.) WWE appointed his daughter Stephanie and Khan to take over as co-CEOs.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterSUN VALLEY, Idaho — The Elon Musk watch is on.The first full day of Allen & Co.’s exclusive conference and retreat for the wealthy and well-connected concluded Wednesday at the luxe Sun Valley resort. Even among the assembled 1%-ers, there was anticipation for the arrival of the maverick leader of Tesla and SpaceX, who is expected to make an appearance at the annual meeting of moguls and C-suite titans.Following Tuesday’s many arrivals and some solo morning time, during which Verizon chief Hans Vestberg went for a run around the resort in the 6 a.m.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterSUN VALLEY, Idaho — Rupert Murdoch will attend Allen & Co.’s Sun Valley conference this week, Variety has confirmed.The annual event colloquially known as “summer camp for billionaires” kicks off as usual on July 5 at the Sun Valley Lodge in the titular Idaho resort town. Murdoch, 91, arrived on site during the July 4th holiday on Monday, according to a source familiar with the matter, two days after the Fox Corp.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorMadison Avenue’s growing interest in sports and streaming video helped Fox Corp. nab new ad dollars amid a softening market.The owner of the Fox broadcast network, Fox Sports and Fox News Channel expects an uptick in advertising commitments made in advance of its next programming schedule, according to a person familiar with the matter, as the company becomes the latest media outlet to wrap negotiations in the industry’s annual “upfront.”Advertisers were interested in Tubi, Fox’s ad-supported streaming hub; the company’s sports events; and its Fox News programming, this person said, among other offerings.The company could see an uptick of volume committed to its primetime broadcast schedule in the mid-single-digit percentage range.

Rupert Murdoch and Jerry Hall, his fourth wife, are said to be divorcing, according to a report in the New York Times citing two people familiar with the situation.

Lionsgate and Fox Corp.’s free, ad-supported streaming service Tubi have set a multi-year slate deal to give 30 new feature films and 200 library titles a presence on the platform.

Three leading media execs said upfront sales will wrap up shortly with Paramount and NBCUniversal seeing increases in the high single digits, according to CEOs Bob Bakish and Jeff Shell.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorFinancial markets took a sharp tumble again Friday, with media and tech stocks falling across the board amid new fears on Wall Street of a looming recession triggered by a new report on rising inflation.Major market indexes had their worst declines for the week since January. On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 880 points, or 2.7%, to close at 31,392.79.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterMedia stocks were up when the bell rang Monday, showing growth from where they closed the Memorial Day-shortened trading week last Friday. The movement is a bit of a rally in the market, which has been trending toward bear territory for two months, that comes days before the U.S. consumer-price index release.The tech-sector heavy Nasdaq index closed at 12,012.73 on Friday, which was down 0.9% for the week and -9.5% year-to-date.

Fox Corp., which recently marked its third anniversary as a publicly traded company, has appointed Wall Street veteran Gabrielle Brown as its new head of investor relations.

Fox Corp. is boosting the presence of Tomi Lahren, with a new show at OutKick Media and as the voice of Fox News Commentary on Fox News Audio.

That in turn will have a major ripple effect across Hollywood’s creative community and the global content production ecosystem, which in recent years has been primed to operate in an environment of seemingly endless demand for new TV shows and movies. Morgan Stanley this month projected the rate of content spending by the 14 largest players in global media to expand at a 13% compound annual growth rate from 2022-25, when the tally will top $200 billion.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorThe executives at the company that owns cable’s venerable Weather Channel know they have a popular service. The network has been around since 1982. Now they hope lightning will strike twice.A live-stream of the outlet will be made available via app for connected TV sets, and subscribers who already get the cable version can get it by providing details of their provider.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorAmid fears of a looming global recession, shares of media companies saw a mixed day of trading Friday as major market indexes marked their the longest string of weekly losses in decades.The S&P 500 index closed flat thanks to a late-session rally, but it was down for the week and is off 18.7% year to date, on the edge of the unofficial 20% threshold indicating a bear market. The Nasdaq Composite, weighted toward the tech sector, dipped 0.3% Friday and has declined 28% since the beginning of 2022. For both indexes, it’s their longest streak of weekly losses since the 2001 dot-com bust.The Dow Jones Industrial Average also was essentially flat Friday, down 2.8% for the week.

Fox Corp, Telemundo, TelevisaUnivision, Disney, YouTube, Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount and the CW.

Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch said seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady will be much more than a Sunday night analyst for Fox Sports but a partner after inking a deal said to be worth $375 million over ten years with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called on Rupert Murdoch and other top executives of Fox Corp. and Fox News to stop the “reckless amplification” of the “great replacement theory” by some of the news channel’s hosts.

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorFox Corp. surprised the industry on Monday by hosting an upfront programming presentation that was entirely pre-recorded.About 800 attendees gathered at the Skylight venue in Lower Manhattan for the presentation that unfolded in immersive fashion across giant screens.Attendees sat nightclub-style in the round at small tables.

Breaking records on and off the field? Fox spoke out about the reported $375 million deal Tom Brady signed to become the network’s lead NFL analyst once he retires from football for good.