21st Century Fox

The British government confirmed Thursday that it would, as expected, send 21st Century Fox’s $15 billion takeover bid for Sky to the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority for a formal review. The authority will take about six months to investigation whether Fox and the Murdoch family would wield too much power on the British media landscape as a result of the merger and whether they are “fit and proper” owners who would uphold local broadcasting standards.

A detailed review by U.K. competition regulators would delay the $15 billion acquisition by 21st Century Fox and cast further uncertainty over the proposed deal.

Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox joined a court challenge on Tuesday against rival CBS Corp.’s proposed buyout of struggling Australian television broadcaster Ten Network Holdings Ltd.

Longtime Fox executive Peter Rice has been promoted to the corporate suite as president of 21st Century Fox. Rice will continue to oversee the majority of Fox’s domestic television operations, as well as the international channels group. He will retain his title as chairman-CEO of Fox Networks Group, a role he’s held since 2012.

British authorities have received yet more clarification from media regulator Ofcom on 21st Century Fox’s attempted takeover of Sky, with a decision on whether to refer the deal to competition authorities still pending. Despite having received the go-ahead in all other relevant territories where Sky operates, the deal has been bogged down by regulatory investigations and government indecision in the U.K.

Fox News is no longer available in the U.K. now that 21st Century Fox has decided to drop the feed of its U.S. news channel from the Sky satellite platform. Fox said in a statement the decision was made because the channel has very little viewership and is not a money-maker for Sky.

An email last Thursday night from James Murdoch was a repudiation of President Trump. It may signal a shift at Murdoch-controlled media outlets.

James Murdoch, the CEO of 21st Century Fox, has spoken out against President Donald Trump’s controversial reaction to the violence in Charlottesville, Va., over the weekend. In a personal letter sent to friends and associates urging them to support the Anti-Defamation League, Murdoch called the violence, in which one woman was killed and 19 others were injured after a car plowed into counter-protesters at a white nationalist rally, and Trump’s response to it a concern to “all of us as Americans and free people.”

The cost of improprieties at Fox News Channel continues to grow for the cable-news outlet’s parent, 21st Century Fox. The media conglomerate, controlled by the Murdoch family, disclosed in a filing Monday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it had paid out $50 million in its recently completed fiscal 2017 due to “settlements of claims arising out of allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination at the Company’s Fox News Channel business.”

Fox did not follow Disney’s lead last night in announcing new subscription streaming services for its content. But CEO James Murdoch told analysts Wednesday that he’s “very open minded about an independently priced, direct to consumer offering and we’re certainly mindful of what we see in the marketplace and how these things are progressing for other firms out there.”

Higher retrans money wasn’t enough to offset lower national and local ad dollars.

The sexual harassment scandal at Fox News has cost its parent company 21st Century Fox tens of millions of dollars, untold reputational damage and some of its biggest personalities. And the drama is far from over. At a confidential mediation proceeding in late July, the lawyer Douglas H. Wigdor asked for more than $60 million to settle several disputes with Fox News and 21st Century Fox, according to two people familiar with the matter. The company would not accept Wigdor’s offer and no resolution was reached, said the people.

21st Century Fox is in talks to operate television stations across the U.S. with Ion Media Networks, potentially paving the way for Fox to dump Sinclair Broadcast Group as an affiliate partner, a person familiar with the situation said. Closely held Ion would contribute its more than 60 independent stations to the joint venture, while Fox would throw in its 28 stations, which include top markets such as New York and Los Angeles. As part of the deal, Fox would consider switching its affiliation to Ion from Sinclair for 26 stations that are up for renewal this year, said the person, who asked not to be identified.

21st Century Fox has been the leader among the Big Four broadcast and cable conglomerates in driving growth over the last couple years, with Fox News a large part of the reason for that success. Yet with both management and on-air talent in transition, Fox News risks going from the company’s biggest asset to a drag on its business.

21st Century Fox today announced two new roles in its global human resources group with the promotion of Julie Franke to SVP of employer brand and strategic talent acquisition, and the appointment of Carsten von der Linden to SVP of talent management. Von der Linden, who […]

Is this a temporary chill or a new page turned in the relationship between the media mogul and the President?

21st Century Fox paid off a woman who accused former top executive David Hill of sexual misconduct while he ran Fox Sports, two individuals with knowledge of the situation told TheWrap. The payment happened in 1998, and suggests Fox had issues with sexual harassment long before the investigations that led to the exits of Fox News star Bill O’Reilly and founder Roger Ailes, and the ouster of Fox Sports President Jamie Horowitz last month.

After sifting through their annual reports for the past several years, Fierce Cable found that the headcount at Disney and Comcast has been steadily rising since 2012, while that of 21st Century Fox and CBS has been flat.

The authorities will deliver reports to the government on Tuesday on whether the American conglomerate 21st Century Fox should be allowed to buy Sky, a satellite giant.

FuboTV, the sports-centric streaming TV subscription provider, has raised $55 million in funding from investors including 21st Century Fox, Scripps Networks Interactive, and the U.K.’s Sky. The sizable round brings the New York-based startup to $75.6 million raised to date. The company will use the capital infusion to expand programming, marketing and infrastructure.

Fox News was hit with new sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuits on Monday, adding to the catalog of complaints that has rattled the U.S. cable news network and its corporate parent 21st Century Fox.

The gain to $1.7 billion is driven by Super Bowl revenue as well as higher retrans and ad money.

Experts say that on current evidence the various sexual and racial harassment claims are unlikely to derail the bid for Sky, though it’s still too early to know for sure. The takeover values Sky, which broadcasts Premier League soccer and top film offerings across Europe, at 18.5 billion pounds ($24 billion). For Fox, the situation is all too reminiscent of Britain’s phone-hacking scandal, in which journalists working for Murdoch newspapers were accused of gaining illegal access to the voicemail messages of celebrities, members of the royal family and crime victims.

The long-time trade association exec becomes public affairs VP at the media company beginning June 5.

Rupert Murdoch and his sons have spent nearly a year trying to clean up the sexual harassment controversies at Fox News. Now comes the hard part.

The largest owner of TV stations, Sinclair Broadcast Group has a history of supporting Republican causes. But as Sinclair tries to grow, it is locking horns with Fox.

The entertainment giant’s interest in the owner of more than 40 stations could position it well for an expansion of internet TV.

21st Century Fox and the private equity firm Blackstone are in talks to launch a bid for Tribune Media, a source with knowledge of the matter said Sunday. The deal currently under discussion would see Blackstone and Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox forming a joint venture. Blackstone would provide the cash for the acquisition while Fox would add all its owned-and-operated television stations to the joint venture.

Since taking over two years ago, James and Lachlan Murdoch seem determined to rid the company of the old-guard culture on which their father, Rupert Murdoch, built his empire.

That is equivalent to one year of a rich new four-year deal that O’Reilly finalized earlier this year.

CBS and Fox networks have the best multiyear investor outlook, Wall Street research firm MoffettNathanson said in a report for investors today. The report noted that the viewership trends for media companies in the first quarter of 2017 will historically be seen as some of the weakest numbers ever. But the media sector was still “a strong out-performer in the first 100 days of the year,” and MoffettNathanson’s research team raised its EPS estimates for Viacom, 21st Century Fox and Time Warner.

21st Century Fox is weighing options to help derail a potential takeover of Tribune Media by Sinclair Broadcast Group, people familiar with the situation say. Fox is deliberating over possible choices after having been approached by several parties that are interested in acquiring Tribune directly or as part of a consortium, the sources say.

21st Century Fox demands an appellate court move quickly in deciding the legality of its employment agreements with its most senior executives.

Federal prosecutors are investigating whether 21st Century Fox Inc. should have disclosed to investors that it made secret settlement payments to female on-air hosts who alleged sexual harassment.

The gain is driven by higher sports ad revenue, local political money and retrans.

Twenty-First Century Fox and News Corp., the separate media giants controlled by Rupert Murdoch, have locked in plans to keep and expand their headquarters on Sixth Avenue’s famed “corporate row.” The two companies, sources said, just signed extension and expansion leases totaling more than 1.2 million square feet at 1211 Sixth Ave.