by Adam Kloos
News Corporation
Fox Broadcasting Station
[1][2]
Contact Information [3]:
1211 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY, 10036 United States
(212)-852-7000
http://www.newscorp.com
Key Executives [6]:
Rupert Murdoch, Chairman and CEO
[7]
Rupert Murdoch is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of News Corporation. He is very active within the company and continues to expand into new media outlets.
Jose Maria Anzar, President
[9]
Jose Maria Aznar is the president of News Corporation and former Prime Minister of Spain.
Chase Carey, President and COO
[10]
Chase Carey is the President and Chief Operating Officer of News Corporation.
Natalie Bancroft, Director
[11]
Natalie Bancroft is the Director of Newscorp. She is part of the Bancroft family that used to own the Dow Jones Media [5].
Gaude Lydia Paez, Vice President of Corporate Communications
[12]
Gaude Lydia Paez is the Vice President of Corporate Communications at FOX Broadcasting Company.
Overview:
News Corporation is a corporation made up of a large number of various media businesses. News Corporation has assets in film, magazine, newspapers, direct satellite television, news, cable broadcasting, cable programming, television programming and broadcast, as well as sports teams and social media [4]. The media conglomerate was created and is currently under control of Rupert Murdoch, who according to Forbes is the 26th most powerful person in the world and the 91st richest[5]. News Corporation currently operates on 5 continents that include North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia [8]. Their main competitors include CBS, NBC/Comcast, and Disney. The FOX Broadcasting Company was launched in 1986 as a fourth broadcast station that has been largely successful in competing with the Big Three. It owns 27 different stations in the US and many more internationally. Throughout the early 2000s until 2012 FOX was the number one watched station by young adults, 18-49 [13].
History:
The history of News Corporation stretches back to 1952, when Rupert Murdoch inherited ‘The Adelaide News,’ a newspaper company his father owned. After returning from school to run the company, Murdoch greatly improved its profits. From there he acquired a number of other newspapers throughout Australia and New Zealand before eventually moving to the British market in the mid-60s. In 1973 he turned his attention to the US where he began buying up American newspaper publishers. In 1980 he announced the creation of News Corporation as a global holding company [4].
In 1985, News Corporation acquired 50% of TCF Holdings which was the parent company of 20th Century Fox. In 1986, 20th Century Fox launched FOX, an alternative to the already existing broadcast stations ABC, CBS, and NBC [14]. In the early 90s, FOX signed a contract with the NFL, giving them the rights to broadcast NFL games on Sundays. Today FOX continues to be the preferred station of youner adults with popular shows such as The Simpsons, American Idol, Glee, Family Guy, Bones, and The X Factor [15].
What They Are Doing Presently?
In 2011, News Corporation was caught in a huge phone-hacking scandal that involved the family of a murdered British school girl by News of the World. There were also accusations of phone-hackings of the London subway bombing victims, families of deceased British soldiers, and an FBI investigation of possible phone-hackings of 9/11 victims. As a result of this, Rupert Murdoch shut down publication of the magazine, News of the World in England and 12 people were arrested. This scandal also caused the company to withdraw a $12 billion bid for shares of British Sky Broadcasting [16]. The arrests and investigation continued into late 2012. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIZNXZVNk74
Apart from the scandal, News Corporation announced in 2012 that they plan to split into two publicly traded holding companies. One division would take care of all film and television assets including 20th Century Fox film studio, Fox Broadcasting Company, and Fox News. The other would have control over the company’s publishing division that includes The Times of London, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Post. Rupert Murdoch would remain chairman of both companies while Chase Carey would remain Chief Operating Officer of the entertainment and media company [17].
What Are Their Plans For The Future?:
Disney and News Corp. are currently in negotiations over the video streaming service Hulu. Jason Kilar, the current CEO of Hulu is planning to leave his postion, and the interim CEO for now is senior vice-president Andy Forssell. Once News Corp. and Disney finalize their negotiations, a permanent CEO will be named to take over Hulu. There has been recent talk of both Disney and News Corp. planning to buy out each others stake in the company. Both companies admitted that Hulu was losing money due to the high costs of liscensing television shows and computer servers [18].
Fox Broadcasting Company is looking forward to “Fox Now,” a collection of apps for mobile devices. These apps allow audiences to view their favorite FOX shows and allow viewers to be more interactive with the content. “T-Commerce” is part of the “Fox Now” app that enables viewers to shop online while watching the show New Girl. The items from the show such as clothing and other paraphenelia would be available to audiences in real time [13].
Programming:
American Idol, 2002-present
[19]
American Idol has been a long running success on the Fox network. It first aired in 2002 and had been the number one watched show for eight consecutive seasons through 2011. The show is very interactive with the audience because the millions of viewers get to decide which contestants get to move on to the next round each week, before eventually choosing the winner [20].
The SImpsons, 1989-present
[21]
The Simpsons is the longest running prime-time animated comedy series in the history of television. Created by Matt Groening in 1989, it is currently in its 24th season. The show focuses on the lives of a dysfunctional lower class family in Springfield. The show is typically family friendly [22].
Family Guy, 1999-present
[23]
Family Guy was created by Seth McFarlanein 1999. Family Guy has remained a hit on Fox since that time and gained an undeniable cult following. Also focusing on the lives of a dysfuncitonal working class family, this show contains content for more mature audiences with it’s slapstick and often raunchy humor. The show is currently in its 11th season [22].
Financials:
By the end of 2012, News Corporation had assets that equaled out to $63 billion and saw a revenue of $34 billion, the highest it had ever been. This was up from 2011 by about $500 million. The increase in revenue can be attributed to its deals with Netflix and Amazon.com for its sitcoms and films [6]. Currently a share of News Corporation is $30.68 [24]. This is improved from exactly one year ago when a share was going for $23.18. Stockholders have been pleased with the strong growth over the past few years, especially the 2011-2012 fiscal year.
Works Cited
2. http://www.zenithotimedia.blogspot.com
4. http://www.corporatewatch.org
9. http://www.en.mediamass.net
10. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com
13. http://www.thefutoncritic.com
14. http://www.thehistoryofcorporate.com
21. http://www.collegiatetimes.com