Fox Entertainment

The project among Fox Entertainment, Paramount, ITV, IMDb, Fabric, EIDR and Xperi will be unveiled at IBC. It aims to provide efficient management and delivery of accurate metadata for content.

Fox has named John Hesling its new head of Alternative Entertainment, the broadcast network’s in-house unscripted studio. Responsible for overseeing the development and production of all unscripted series owned by Fox Entertainment (FAE), as well as programs FAE produces for third-party buyers in the U.S. and abroad, Hesling will be based in Los Angeles.

Wade, previously president, alternative entertainment and specials of Fox Entertainment, has landed the top job vacated by Charlie Collier, who exited last month to join streamer Roku. Wade will report to Lachlan Murdoch, executive chair and CEO of Fox Corp. In his new role, Wade will oversee Fox Entertainment’s portfolio, which includes animation house Bento Box Entertainment; MarVista Entertainment; TMZ; the in-house unscripted studio Fox Alternative Entertainment, which he launched; Studio Ramsay Global, in whose creation he was deeply involved; scripted content creator Fox Entertainment Studios; Blockchain Creative Labs; and the Fox Entertainment Global content sales unit.

Fox Entertainment CEO Charlie Collier is leaving the linear network to join Roku. He joins as President, Roku Media, effective in late October, based in New York. The surprising move is a major statement of intent from Roku. Collier will oversee advertising and content at the digital streaming company. He will run Roku Media globally, managing its ad platform business as well as content for Roku’s owned and operated channels, including the Roku Channel.

Brooke Bowman has been promoted to executive vice president of drama development and programming at Fox Entertainment. She succeeds Charlie Andrews in the role, with Andrews exiting the company. The parting with Andrews is said to be on good terms, with his contract simply coming to an end.

Fox Entertainment has acquired MarVista Entertainment, the prolific independent studio which produces and distributes original movies for traditional and streaming networks worldwide. No one would comment but sources pegged the value of the deal at over $100 million.

Last month Fox offered 10,000 free “Miss Masky’ Genesis Edition NFTs to the general public through its www.maskverse.com website. In less than 10 hours, all 10,000 had been claimed and a second 10,000 NFT run had been announced. The question now is where do NFTs fit in the television ecosystem?

Public cloud technology has moved into the realm of widespread broadcaster acceptance, discussions at this week’s Devoncroft Partners’ Executive Summit confirmed, although there’s wariness that legacy vendors can make the transition along with them. Labor shortages and supply chain problems also surfaced as major concerns.

Fox Corp.’s entertainment division has closed its acquisition of TMZ from WarnerMedia, confirming that founder and managing editor Harvey Levin will continue with the newly situated company. Terms were not disclosed, but the deal is believed to be worth in the range of $100 million to $125 million.

In his expanded role, he’ll oversee marketing strategies for all business units within the Fox Entertainment portfolio, including the Fox Broadcast Network, ad-supported streaming service Tubi, Bento Box, Fox Alternative Entertainemnt and Blockchain Creative Labs.

The streaming service is also offering live news from NewsNOW from Fox, Fox Soul, Bloomberg TV, NBC News Now, and PeopleTV and will add more premium content including Euronews, USA Today News, and three of the largest local station groups in the country, including Hearst Television, with two others coming soon.

Fox Corp.’s broadcast network Fox Entertainment will no longer be hosting program development presentations at the NAB Show (April 18-22) in a precautionary effort to keep employees, client and agency partners safe from the coronavirus. Deadline’s Nellie Andreeva says the company also canceled an affiliate board dinner that was to take place during the show.

Julia Franz will become SVP comedy at the network, filling a post that has been open for several months. Daniel Weidenfeld will take on the role of SVP animation. Both will report to Fox Entertainment President Michael Thorn.

On the heels of acquiring Bento Box Entertainment, Fox Entertainment CEO Charlie Collier is bullish on Fox’s new ability to operate as an independent among growing entertainment monoliths such as Disney, WarnerMedia and Comcast NBCUniversal. “We are remaking our business as an independent, which as you know is a rare commodity these days,”

Former Sony Pictures Television President of Ad Sales Amy Carney has been appointed chief operating officer at Fox Entertainment. Based in L.A., Carney will report directly to Fox Entertainment CEO Charlie Collier. She will be charged with overseeing research, strategy and operations for the newly independent broadcast network.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Fox Entertainment has agreed to buy Bento Box Entertainment, a prolific producer of animated content including several shows for Fox Corp.’s broadcast network. Bento Box is the animation house behind Fox’s long-running Sunday night show Bob’s Burgers. The deal will fortify Fox’s pipeline for animation, which has been a staple of its primetime lineup for decades. Journal subscribers can read the full story here.

The new Fox Entertainment is beginning to take shape. The Charlie Collier-run network has handed out its first series orders since becoming an independent broadcaster after seeing its sibling TV studio move to Disney as part of the $71.3 billion asset sale.