Fox Broadcasting Company
 | |
| Type | Television network |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Affiliates | |
| Headquarters | 1211Avenue of the Americas New York City 10036 U.S. |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Picture format | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| Parent | Fox Entertainment |
| Key people |
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| History | |
| Founded | October 9, 1986 |
| Launched |
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| Founder | |
| Former names | FBC (1986–1987) |
| Links | |
| Website | fox |
| Availability | |
| Streaming media | |
| Affiliated Streaming Service(s) | Tubi |
Fox Broadcasting Company, LLC[1](commonly known simply asFoxand stylized inall caps[2]) is anAmericancommercialbroadcasttelevision network owned by theFox Entertainmentdivision ofFox Corporation,headquartered at1211 Avenue of the AmericasinMidtown Manhattan.Fox hosts additional offices at the Fox Network Center in Los Angeles and at the Fox Media Center inTempe, Arizona.Launched as a competitor to theBig Three television networks(ABC,CBS,andNBC) in 1986, Fox went on to become the most successful attempt at afourth television network.It was also the highest-ratedfree-to-air network in the 18–49 demographic from 2004 to 2012 and 2020 to 2021, and was the most-watched American television network in total viewership during the2007–08 season.[3][4]
Fox and its affiliated companies operate many entertainment channels in international markets, but these do not necessarily air the same programming as the U.S. network. Most viewers in Canada have access to at least one U.S.-based Fox affiliate, either over the air or through a pay television provider, although Fox'sNational Football League broadcastsand most of its prime time programming are subject tosimultaneous substitutionregulations forpay televisionproviders imposed by theCanadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission(CRTC) to protect rights held by domestically based networks.
Fox is named after the film studio that was originally called20th Century Fox(the network's corporate sibling prior to that studio'sacquisition by The Walt Disney Company) and after the producerWilliam Fox,who had founded one of the film studio's predecessors,Fox Film,before it was merged with20th Century Picturesin 1935. Fox is a member of theNorth American Broadcasters Associationand theNational Association of Broadcasters.
History
[edit]Origins
[edit]20th Century Fox (now20th Century Studios) had been involved in television production as early as the 1950s, producing severalsyndicated programs.[5]Following the demise of theDuMont Television Networkin August 1956, after it became mired in severe financial problems, theNTA Film Networkwas launched as a new "fourth network".[6]20th Century Fox would also produce original content for the NTA network.[5]The film network effort would fail after a few years, but 20th Century Fox continued to dabble in television through its production arm, TCF Television Productions, producing series (such asPerry Mason,BatmanandM*A*S*H) for the three major broadcast television networks (ABC, NBC, and CBS).
1980s: Establishment of the network
[edit]Foundations
[edit]The Fox network's foundations were laid in March 1985 throughNews Corporation's $255 million purchase of a 50% interest in TCF Holdings, theparent companyof the 20th Century Fox film studio. In May 1985, News Corporation, a media company owned by Australian publishing magnateRupert Murdochthat had mainly served as a newspaper publisher at the time of the TCF Holdings deal, agreed to pay $2.55 billion to acquireindependent television stationsin six major U.S. cities from theJohn Kluge-run broadcasting companyMetromedia:WNEW-TV in New York City,WTTGin Washington, D.C.,KTTVin Los Angeles,KRIV-TVin Houston,WFLD-TV in Chicago, and KRLD-TV in Dallas. A seventh station, ABC affiliateWCVB-TVin Boston, was part of the original transaction but was spun off to theHearst Broadcastingsubsidiary of theHearst Communicationsin a separate, concurrent deal as part of aright of first refusalrelated to that station's 1982 sale to Metromedia.[7][8][9](Two years later, News Corporation acquired WXNE-TV in that market from theChristian Broadcasting Networkand changed its call letters toWFXT.)
Radio personalityClarke Ingramsuggested that the Fox network is a revival or at least a linear descendant of DuMont, since Metromedia was founded when DuMont spun off its two remaining owned-and-operated stations, WNEW-TV (then known as WABD) and WTTG, as DuMont Broadcasting (it later changed its name to Metropolitan Broadcasting before becoming Metromedia).[10][11]Additionally, the former base of DuMont's operations, the DuMont Tele-Centre inManhattan,eventually became the present-day Fox Television Center.
Beginning of the network
[edit]
In October 1985, 20th Century Fox announced its intentions to form a fourth television network that would compete with ABC, CBS, and NBC. The plans were to use the combination of the Fox studios and the former Metromedia stations to both produce and distribute programming. Organizational plans for the network were held off until the Metromedia acquisitions cleared regulatory hurdles. Then, in December 1985, Rupert Murdoch agreed to pay $325 million to acquire the remaining equity in TCF Holdings from his original partner,Marvin Davis.The purchase of the Metromedia stations was approved by theFederal Communications Commission(FCC) in March 1986; the call letters of the New York City and Dallas outlets were subsequently changed respectively toWNYWandKDAF.[12]These first six stations, then broadcasting to a combined reach of 22% of the nation's households, became known as theFox Television Stationsgroup. With the sole exception of KDAF (which was sold toRenaissance Broadcastingin 1995, at which time it became an affiliate ofThe WB), all of the originalowned-and-operated stations( "O&Os" ) are still part of the Fox network today. Like the core O&O group, Fox's affiliate body initially consisted of independent stations (a few of which had maintained affiliations with ABC, NBC, CBS, or DuMont earlier in their existences). The local charter affiliate was, in most cases, that market's top-rated independent; however, Fox opted to affiliate with a second-tier independent station in markets where a more established independent declined the affiliation (such asDenver,PhoenixandSt. Louis). Largely because of both these factors, Fox in a situation very similar to what DuMont had experienced four decades before had little choice but to affiliate withUHFstations in all except a few (mainly larger) markets where the network gained clearance.[13]Then-Fox Inc. head Barry Diller was acknowledged to have been the one who created the network, with theNew York Timesnoting in October 1986 that Diller's "current obsession is creating a television network to compete each evening with NBC, CBS and ABC."[14]
The Fox Broadcasting Company, or "FBC" as it was known back then, officially debuted with asoft launchat 11:00 p.m.EasternandPacific Timeon Thursday, October 9, 1986. Its inaugural program was alate-night talk show,The Late Show,which was hosted by comedianJoan Rivers.[14][15]After a strong start,The Late Showquickly eroded in the ratings; it was never able to overtake NBC stalwartThe Tonight Show.By early 1987, Rivers (and her then-husbandEdgar Rosenberg,the show's original executive producer) quitThe Late Showafter disagreements with the network over the show's creative direction, the program then began to be hosted by a succession of guest hosts. After that point, some stations that affiliated with FBC in the weeks before the April 1987 launch of its prime time lineup (such asWCGV-TVinMilwaukeeandWDRB-TV inLouisville) signed affiliation agreements with the network on the condition that they would not have to carryThe Late Showdue to the program's weak ratings.
Shortly before the official launch of FBC on April 5, 1987, under original Fox Entertainment President Garth Ancier, the network underwent a re-branding to the much shorter "Fox". According to an interview Ancier gave at that time, it was ad manJay Chiatwho suggested to network executives that, rather than create a brand from scratch, the network ought to use the "Fox" heritage of the previous 80 years and the "searchlight" iconography to link Fox Broadcasting to 20th Century Fox.[16]Until late in the game during the 1980s, several station groups like Media Central andPappas Telecastinghad avoided Fox when the network launched, but joined the network later on.[17][18]
The network had its "grand opening"when it expanded its programming into prime time on April 5, 1987, inaugurating its Sunday night lineup with the premieres of the sitcomMarried... with Childrenand thesketch comedyseriesThe Tracey Ullman Show.The premieres of both series were rebroadcast twice following their initial airings (at 7:00 p.m. and 7:30 pm. Eastern/Pacific, respectively) that night, whichJamie Kellner,who served as the network's president and chief operating officer until his resignation in January 1993, stated would allow viewers to "sample FBC programming without missing60 Minutes,Murder, She Wrote,or the 8 o'clock movies ".[19][20][21]Fox added one new show per week over the next several weeks, with the drama21 Jump Streetand comediesMr. PresidentandDuetcompleting its Sunday schedule.[22]On July 11, 1987, the network rolled out its Saturday night schedule with the premiere of thesupernaturaldrama seriesWerewolf,which began with a two-hour pilot movie event. Three other series were added to the Saturday lineup over the next three weeks: comediesThe New Adventures of Beans Baxter,Karen's Song,andDown and Out in Beverly Hills(the latter being an adaptation of the film of the same name). BothKaren's SongandDown and Out in Beverly Hillswere canceled by the start of the1987–88 television season,the network's first fall launch, and were replaced by the sitcomsSecond ChanceandWomen in Prison.
In regard to its late night lineup, Fox had already decided to cancelThe Late Show,and had a replacement series in development,The Wilton North Report,when the former series began a ratings resurgence under its final guest host, comedianArsenio Hall.Wilton Northlasted just a few weeks, however, and the network was unable to reach a deal with Hall to return as host when it hurriedly revivedThe Late Showin early 1988.The Late Showwent back to featuring guest hosts, eventually selectingRoss Shaferas its permanent host, only for it to be canceled for good by October 1988, while Hall signed a deal withParamount Televisionto develop his own syndicated late night talk show,The Arsenio Hall Show.Fox aired the39th Primetime Emmy Awardsand would air the next five editions.
Although the network had modest successes inMarried... with ChildrenandThe Tracy Ullman Show,several affiliates were disappointed with Fox's largely underperforming programming lineup during the network's first three years,KMSP-TVinMinneapolisandKPTVinPortland, Oregon,both owned at the time byChris-Craft Television,disaffiliated from Fox in 1988 (with KITN (nowWFTC) andKPDXrespectively replacing those stations as Fox affiliates), citing that the network's weaker program offerings were hampering viewership of their stronger syndicated slate.
At the start of the1989–90 television season,Fox added a third night of programming, on Mondays. The season heralded the start of a turnaround for Fox. It saw the debut of amidseason replacementseries,The Simpsons,an animated series that originated as a series ofshortsonThe Tracey Ullman Show,ranked at a three-way tie for 29th place in the Nielsen ratings, it became a breakout hit and was the first Fox series to break the Top 30.The Simpsons,at 35 years as of 2024, is the longest-running American sitcom, the longest-running American animated program, and the longest-running American scripted primetime television series.
In 1989, Fox also first introduced the documentary seriesCopsand crime-focused magazine programAmerica's Most Wanted(the latter of which debuted as a half-hour series as part of the network's mainly comedy-based Sunday lineup for its first season, before expanding to an hour and moving to Fridays for the 1990–91 season). These two series, which would become staples on the network for just over two decades, would eventually be paired to form the nucleus of Fox's Saturday night schedule beginning in the1994–95 season.Meanwhile,Married... with Children,which differentiated itself from other family sitcoms of the period as it centered on a dysfunctional lower-middle-class family, saw viewer interest substantially increase beginning in its third season afterMichiganhomemakerTerry Rakoltabegan a boycott to force Fox to cancel the series after objecting to risqué humor and sexual content featured in a1989 episode.Married...'s newfound success led it to become the network's longest-running live-action sitcom, airing for 11 seasons.
1990s: Rise into mainstream success and beginnings of rivalry with the Big Three
[edit]Fox survived where DuMont and other attempts to start a fourth network had failed because it programmed just under the number of hours defined by the FCC to legally be considered a network. This allowed Fox to make revenue in ways forbidden to the established networks (for instance, it did not have to adhere to theFinancial Interest and Syndication Rulesthat were in effect at the time), since during its first years it was considered to be merely a large group of stations. By comparison, DuMont had been saddled by numerous regulatory barriers that hampered its potential to grow, most notably a ban on acquiring additional stations, during an era when the FCC had much tighter ownership limits for television stations (limiting broadcasters to a maximum of five stations nationwide) than it did when Fox launched. In addition, Murdoch was more than willing to open his wallet to get and keep programming and talent. DuMont, in contrast, operated on a shoestring budget and was unable to keep the programs and stars it had.[23]
Most of the other startup networks that launched in later years (such asUPNandThe WB) followed Fox's model as well. Furthermore, DuMont operated during a time when the FCC did not require television manufacturers to include UHF capability.[24]To see DuMont's UHF stations, most people had to buy an expensiveconverter.Even then, the signal quality was marginal at best compared to the signals ofVHFstations.By the time Fox launched, cable allowed UHF stations to generally be on an equal footing with VHF stations.[13]
Although Fox was growing rapidly as a network and had established itself as a presence, it was still not considered a major competitor to the established "Big Three" broadcast networks, ABC, CBS, and NBC. From its launch, Fox had the advantage of offering programs intended to appeal toward a younger demographic adults between 18 and 34 years of age – and that were edgier in content, whereas some programs that were carried by the "Big Three" networks attracted an older-skewing audience. Until the early 1990s, when Fox expanded its programming to additional nights and outside prime time, most Fox stations were still essentially formatted as independent stations – filling their schedules with mainly first-run and acquired programming, and, during prime time, running either syndicated programs or, more commonly, movies on nights when the network did not provide programming. Few Fox stations carried local newscasts during the network's early years, unlike the owned-and-operated stations and affiliates of its established rivals. Those that did were mostly based in larger markets (including some of the network's O&Os) and retained newscasts that had aired for decades. Even then, these news operations were limited to one newscast per day, following the network's prime time lineup.
On September 6, 1990, Fox reached an agreement withTCI(the nation's largest cable company at the time) in which TCI systems in markets that were not served by an over-the-air Fox affiliate at the time would become charter affiliates of a cable-only national feed of the network known asFoxnet.[25][26]The cable-only network launched on June 6, 1991, bringing Fox programming to smaller markets that did not carry a default Fox affiliate at the time; it would manage to reach a total of 1.3 million subscribers by 1992.[27][28]
As Fox gradually headed towards carrying a full week's worth of programming in prime time through the addition of programming on Thursday and Friday nights at the start of the1990–91 seasonthe network's added offerings included the scheduling ofThe Simpsonsopposite veteran NBC sitcomThe Cosby Showas part of Fox's initial Thursday night lineup that fall (along with future hitBeverly Hills, 90210,which would become the network's longest-running drama, airing for ten seasons) after only a half-season of success on Sunday nights. The show performed well in its new Thursday slot, spending four seasons there and helping to launchMartin,another Fox comedy that became a hit when it debuted in August 1992.The Simpsonsreturned to Sunday nights in the fall of 1994, and has remained there ever since.
The sketch comedy seriesIn Living Color,which debuted in April 1990, created many memorable characters and launched the careers of future movie starsJim Carrey,Jamie Foxx,Damon Wayans,Marlon Wayans,Keenen Ivory Wayans,guest starsChris RockandTim Meadows,and both members of the show's dance troupe, the "Fly Girls",Rosie PerezandJennifer Lopez.The series also gained international prominence after Fox aired a special live episode in January 1992 as analternative to the halftime showduringSuper Bowl XXVI,which was broadcast on CBS, marking the start of Fox's rivalry with the "Big Three" networks while popularizing thecounterprogrammingstrategy against theSuper Bowltelecast.
The early and mid-1990s saw the debuts of several soap opera-style prime time dramas aimed at younger audiences that became quick hits, which, in addition toBeverly Hills, 90210,included its adult-focused spin-offMelrose Place(which initially had a mediocre ratings performance, before viewership rose significantly midway through its first season followingHeather Locklear's addition to the cast), its own short lived spin-offModels Inc.,and family dramaParty of Five.The early and mid-1990s also saw the network launch several series aimed at ablackaudience, which, in addition toMartin,included the sitcomLiving Singleandpolice proceduralNew York Undercover.[29]
Luring the NFL and affiliation switches
[edit]Despite having a few successful shows like the science fiction dramaThe X-Files,Fox still lacked credibility among viewers.[30]Even those working in television thought of the network as "the one that has that cartoon show" (The Simpsons). More than 85% of affiliates in 1993 were UHF stations. Fox became a viable competitor to the older networks when it won broadcast television rights to theNational Football League(NFL) away fromCBS.In December 1993, Fox signed a contract with the NFL to televise games from theNational Football Conference(NFC)—which had been airing its games on CBS since1956—starting with the1994 season.The initial four-year contract, which Fox bid $1.58 billion to obtain—while CBS offered $295 million per year to retain the rights[31]—also included the exclusive U.S. television rights toSuper Bowl XXXIin1997.[32]The network also luredPat Summerall,John Madden,Dick Stockton,Matt Millen,James Brown,Terry Bradshaw,and behind-the-scenes production personnel, fromCBS Sportsto staff its NFL coverage.[31]
Shortly afterward, News Corporation began striking affiliation deals with, and later purchasing, more television station groups. On May 23, 1994, Fox agreed to purchase a 20% stake inNew World Communications,a television and filmproduction companycontrolled by investorRonald Perelmanthat had just recently entered into broadcasting through its 1993 purchase of seven stations owned bySCI Television.As a result of Fox acquiring a 20% minority interest in the company, New World signed an agreement to switch the affiliations of twelve stations (eight CBS affiliates, three ABC affiliates [twoof whichwere subsequently placed in ablind trustand then sold directly to Fox due to conflicts with FCC ownership rules], andone NBC affiliate) that it had either already owned outright or was in the process of acquiring fromCiticastersandArgyle Communicationsat the time to Fox starting in September 1994 and continuing as existing affiliation contracts with their existing major network partners expired.[33][34][35]
That summer,SF Broadcasting,a joint venture between Fox andSavoy Picturesthat was founded in March 1994, purchased four stations from Burnham Broadcasting (threeNBCaffiliatesandone ABC affiliate);[36][37]through a separate agreement, those stations would also switch to Fox between September 1995 and January 1996 as existing affiliation agreements lapsed. These two deals were not the first instances in which a longtime "Big Three" station affiliated with Fox: in Miami, the affiliation moved fromWCIX (channel 6)to NBC affiliateWSVNin January 1989[38]as the result ofa complicated six-station affiliation swap in two South Florida marketsspurred by NBC's purchase of CBS affiliateWTVJ (channel 4)and CBS's purchase of WCIX.[39]WSVN immediately attracted industry notice[40]for featuring a news-intensive tabloid format uncharacteristic of any Fox affiliate or independent station heretofore,[41][42]with then-Fox network presidentLucie Salhanycalling WSVN "the future of television" in May 1994.[43]WSVN remains the largest Fox affiliate in terms of market size to have entirely eschewed any prominent on-air branding with the network name.[44]
The NFC contract, in fact, was the impetus for the affiliation deal with New World[33]and SF Broadcasting's purchase of the Burnham stations, as Fox sought to improve local coverage of its new NFL package by aligning the network with stations that had more established histories and advertiser value than its charter affiliates. The deals spurred a series of affiliation realignments between all four U.S. television networks involving individual stations and various broadcasting groups such as those between CBS andGroup W(whosecorporate parentlater bought the network in August 1995), and ABC and theE. W. Scripps Company(which ownedthreeFoxaffiliatesthat switched to either ABC or NBC as a result of the New World deal) affecting 30 television markets between September 1994 and September 1996. The two deals also had the side benefit of increasing local news programming on the new Fox affiliates, mirroring the programming format adopted by WSVN upon that station's switch to the network (as well as expanding the number of news-producing stations in Fox's portfolio beyond mainly charter stations in certain large and mid-sized markets).
With significant market share for the first time ever and the rights to the NFL, Fox firmly established itself as the nation's fourth major network. Fox Television Stations would acquire New World outright on July 17, 1996, in a $2.48 billion stock purchase, making the latter's twelve Fox affiliates owned-and-operated stations of the network;[45][46]the deal was completed on January 22, 1997. Later, in August 2000, Fox bought several stations owned by Chris-Craft Industries and its subsidiariesBHC Communicationsand United Television for $5.5 billion (most of these stations were UPN affiliates, although its Minneapolis station KMSP-TV would rejoin Fox in September 2002 as an owned-and-operated station).[47]These purchases, for a time, made Fox Television Stations the largest owner of television stations in the U.S. (a title that has since been assumed by theSinclair Broadcast Group,one of the network's largest affiliate groups).
Evolving programming
[edit]Fox completed its prime time expansion to all seven nights on January 19,1993,with the launch of two additional nights of programming on Tuesdays and Wednesdays (The method of gradually adding nights to the programming schedule that began with the network's April 1987 prime time launch was replicated by The WB and UPN when those networks debuted in January 1995), making it the fifth broadcast network (behind the Dumont network) to air programming on a nightly basis. September 1993 saw the heavy promotion and debut of a short-livedwesternseries that incorporated science-fiction elements,The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.However, it was the supernatural investigative drama that debuted immediately following it on Friday nights,The X-Files,that would find long-lasting success, and would become Fox's first series to crack Nielsen's year-end Top 20 most-watched network programs. After several other failed attempts at late night programming following the cancellation ofThe Late Show(most notably, the quick failure ofThe Chevy Chase Showin 1993), Fox finally found success in that time period with the debut ofMADtvon October 14, 1995; the sketch comedy series became a solid competitor to NBC'sSaturday Night Livefor over a decade and was the network's most successful late night program as well as one of its most successful Saturday night shows, running for 14 seasons until 2009.
An attempt to make a larger effort to program Saturday nights by movingMarried... with Childrenfrom its longtime Sunday slot and adding a new but short-lived sitcom (Love and Marriage) to the night at the beginning of the1996–97 seasonbackfired with the public, as it resulted in a brief cancellation ofAmerica's Most Wantedthat was criticized by law enforcement and public officials, and was roundly rejected by viewers, which brought swift cancellation to the newer series.[48]Married...quickly returned to Sundays (before moving again to Mondays two months later); both it andMartinwould end their runs at the end of that season. The Saturday schedule was revised in November 1996, to feature one new and one encore episode ofCops,and the revivedAmerica's Most Wanted: America Fights Back.CopsandAMWremained the anchors of Fox's Saturday lineup, making it the most stable night in American broadcast television for over 14 years; both shows eventually were among the few first-run programs remaining on Saturday evenings across the four major networks after decreasing prime time viewership – as more people opted to engage in leisure activities away from home rather than watch television on that night of the week led ABC, NBC and CBS to largely abandon first-run series on Saturdays (outsidenewsmagazines,sports andburned offprime time shows that failed on other nights) in favor of reruns and movies by the mid-2000s.America's Most Wantedended its 22-year run on Fox in June 2011, and was subsequently picked up byLifetime(before being cancelled for good in 2013);[49]Cops,in turn, would move its first-run episodes toSpikein 2013 after 23 seasons (ending its original run on Fox as the network's longest-running prime time program) and had been cancelled in 2020, leaving sports and repeats of reality and drama series as the only programs airing on Fox on Saturday evenings.[50]
During the1997–98 season,Fox had three shows in the Nielsen Top 20 (in terms of total viewers);The X-Files(which ranked 11th),King of the Hill(which ranked 15th) andThe Simpsons(which ranked 18th), all of which aired on Sunday nights. Building around its flagship animated comedyThe Simpsons,Fox would experience relative success with animated sitcoms in prime time, beginning with the debut of theMike Judge-producedKing of the Hillin 1997.Family Guy(the first of threeadult-oriented animated seriesfromSeth MacFarlaneto air on the network) andFuturama(fromSimpsonscreatorMatt Groening) would make their debuts in 1999; however, they were canceled in 2002 and 2003 respectively. Due to strong DVD sales and highly rated cable reruns onCartoon Network'sAdult Swim,Fox later decided to order new episodes ofFamily Guy,which began airing in 2005.Futuramawould be revived with four direct-to-DVD films between 2007 and 2009 and would return as a first-run series onComedy Central,where it ran from 2010 to 2013. Less successful efforts includedThe Critic,starringSaturday Night LivealumnusJon Lovitz(which Fox picked up in 1994 after it was cancelled by ABC, only for the series to be cancelled again after its second season), andThe PJs(which moved to The WB in 2000, after Fox cancelled that series after its second season). Other notable shows that debuted in the late 1990s included the quirkyDavid E. Kelley-produced live-actiondramedyAlly McBeal,the short-lived game showGreed,and the period comedyThat '70s Show,the latter of which became Fox's second-longest-running live-action sitcom, airing for eight seasons.
Throughout the 1990s and into the next decade, Fox launched a slate of cable channels beginning with the 1994 debuts of general entertainment networkFXand movie channel FXM: Movies from Fox (nowFX Movie Channel), followed by the debut ofFox News Channelin August 1996. Its sports operations expanded with the acquisition of controlling interests in severalregional sports networks(including thePrime NetworkandSportsChannel) between 1996 and 2000 to formFox Sports Net(which launched in November 1996), its 2000 purchase of Speedvision (later Speed Channel, which was replaced in the United States byFox Sports 1in August 2013; however, it continues to exist in other North American andCaribbeancountries asFox Sports Racing), and the launches of Fox Sports World (laterFox Soccer,which was replaced byFXXin September 2013) and Fox Sports en Español (nowFox Deportes) in the early 2000s.
2000s: Rise to ratings leadership, theAmerican Idoleffect, and fierce rivalry with CBS
[edit]By 2000, many staple Fox shows of the 1990s had ended their runs. During the late 1990s and carrying over into the early 2000s, Fox put much of its efforts into producing reality shows many of which were considered to be sensationalistic and controversial in nature – such asWho Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?,Temptation Island,Married by America,andJoe Millionaire(which became the first Fox program to crack the Nielsen Top 10), as well as video clip shows such asWorld's Wildest Police VideosandWhen Animals Attack!.After shedding most of these programs, Fox gradually filled its lineup with acclaimed dramas such as24,The O.C.,House,andBones,and comedies such asThe Bernie Mac Show,Malcolm in the Middle,andArrested Development.
As the decade wore on, Fox began surpassing ABC and NBC in the ratings, first in age demographics, then in overall viewership, and placed second behind a resurgent CBS in total viewership, beginning in2002.Fox hit a major milestone in2005when it emerged as the most-watched U.S. broadcast network in the lucrative 18–49 demographic for the first time, largely boosted by the strength of the reality singing competition seriesAmerican Idol.Regarded as the single most dominant program on 21st-century U.S. television, as well as the first Fox show to lead the Nielsen seasonal ratings,American Idolhad peak audiences of up to 38 million viewers during the2003 season finaleand double-season average audiences of around 31 million viewers in2006and2007.Subsequently, it leapfrogged over Fox's Big Three competition to become the highest-rated U.S. television program overall starting with the2003–04 season,becoming the first reality singing competition series in the country to reach first place in the seasonal ratings.
American Idolremains the most recent U.S. television program to date to lead the national prime time ratings and attract at least 30 million viewers for multiple and consecutive television seasons. It is the most-watched program on U.S. television by seasonal average viewership in the 2000s decade, as well as the most recent program scheduled to have successfully established agraveyard sloton U.S. television since the end of NBC'sFriendsin 2004 and the subsequent decline of NBC's previously dominant "Must See TV"Thursday timeblock. By 2005, reality television succeeded sitcoms as the most popular form of entertainment in the U.S. as a result of Fox's rise withAmerican Idoland NBC's network declines.House,which aired asAmerican Idol's lead-out program on Tuesday nights, earned international prominence in the 21st century and became Fox's first prime time drama series (and the network's third program overall) to reach the Nielsen Top 10 beginning2006.
Beginning2004,CBS and Fox, which ranked as the two most-watched broadcast networks in the U.S. during the 2000s, have tended to equal one another indemographic ratingsamong general viewership, with both networks winning certain demographics by narrow margins; however, while Fox has the youngest-skewing viewer base, CBS is consistently regarded to have the oldest audience demographics among the major broadcast networks. Fox hit a milestone in February 2005 by scoring its firstsweepsvictory in total viewership and demographic ratings, boosted largely by its broadcast ofSuper Bowl XXXIXand the strengths ofAmerican Idol,24,House,andThe O.C.
In September 2006, as a result of the increasing number of over-the-air Fox affiliates and the increased availability of digital subchannels carrying Fox in certain markets, Foxnet was discontinued. Then, a sweeping milestone came by the conclusion of the2007–08 seasonon May 21, 2008, shortly after the widely acclaimedseventh-season finaleofAmerican Idol,when Fox outranked longtime leader CBS as the most-watched television network overall in the United States, attributed to the strengths ofSuper Bowl XLIIand its NFL game coverages,IdolandHouseduring that season. To date, Fox is the only non-Big Three network to top the overall Nielsen ratings since its inception in the1950–51 season.[3]
In the late 2000s, Fox launched a few series that proved to be powerful hits in different respects. In 2007, the network began production on the game showsAre You Smarter than a 5th Grader?andDon't Forget the Lyrics!;both shows ran for a total of three seasons each, making them the longest-running game shows in Fox's history. In 2008, the supernatural mystery seriesFringedebuted to moderate ratings but earned critical acclaim during its first season on Tuesdays. Throughout its run, the series developed a large loyal fanbase that turned the show into a cult favorite. In 2009,Gleepremiered to average ratings when its pilot aired as a lead-out program of theeighth-season finaleofAmerican Idol,but earned positive reviews from critics. The cast of the series has been acknowledged byBarack ObamaandOprah Winfrey,who have each asked the cast to perform live for various national events.
2010–2017: Network's ratings collapse and revamp in network programming
[edit]At the beginning of the 2010s, new comediesRaising HopeandNew Girlgave Fox its first live-action comedy successes in years. Thesecond seasonofGleedelivered that series' highest ratings during the2010–11season, with viewership peaking during itsSuper Bowl lead-outepisodein February 2011 (marking the most expensive post-Super Bowl episode ever produced on U.S. television). The said show has continuously attracted worldwide media attention that it formed a large, loyal international fanbase. At the same time, Fox's live telecast of theSuper Bowl XLVhelped the network emerge as the first U.S. television network to earn an average single-night prime time audience of at least 100 million viewers.[51]
American Idollost its first place standing among all network prime time programs during the2011–12 finale(falling to second that season behindNBC Sunday Night Football), ending thelongest streak at#1for a prime time broadcast network series in U.S. television history, through its eight-year ratings domination in both the Adults 18–49 demographic and total viewership.Idolalso remained in the Nielsen Top 10 for eleven years from2003to2013,and became the highest-rated non-sportsprime time television program as well as the highest-rated reality series in the U.S. from 2003 to 2012. these records marked the longest Nielsen ratings streaks of any Fox program in these categories.
The 2012 season finale ofAmerican Idolmarked the end of the season-long 25th anniversary of the establishment of Fox network, helping it win in the 18–49 demographic for the eighth consecutive season, the longest such streak according to Nielsen measurement records (and still standing as of 2024). However, Fox suffered a collapse in viewership during the2012–13 season;American IdolandGleesuffered steep ratings declines, while the network as a whole fell to third place (suffering an overall decrease by 22%) in total viewership and to second place in the 18–49 demographic (where it remained as of 2014[update]) by the end of the season.
The decline in ratings continued into the2013–14 season,with Fox placing fourth among the major networks in total viewership for the first time since2001.Subsequently, on January 13, 2014, Fox announced that it would abandon its use of the standard concept of greenlighting shows through the initial order of pilot episodes during the designated "pilot season" (running from January through April), instead opting to pick up shows directly to series.[52]
Fox scored renewed ratings successes with its February 2014 live telecast ofSuper Bowl XLVIII,which became thesecond most-watched television broadcast(by average) in U.S. history, and the lead-out programs that followed this event –New GirlandBrooklyn Nine-Nine.Later, in May 2014,Kevin Reillyannounced that he would resign as chairman of Fox Entertainment.[53]On July 15, 2014, then-corporate parent21st Century Foxannounced that it would merge the operations of the network and20th Century Fox Televisioninto the newly created Fox Television Group, with 20th Century Fox Television co-chairpersonsDana Waldenand Gary Newman appointed to head the division.[54]
The2014–15 seasonsaw the series finale ofGleeand debut of hits in the freshmen dramasGotham(based on theBatmanmythos) and theLee Daniels-producedEmpire.Ratings forEmpire,in particular, increased week-to-week throughout its first season, becoming the network's first successfulAmerican Idollead-out sinceHouse,as well as the first American television program to consistently increase its episode-to-episode viewership during its first five weeks since the1992feat set by ABC'sRoseanne.Empireended its inaugural season as the first U.S. television show ever to increase its episodic viewership on a consistent basis throughout the course of a single season, as well as Fox's fourth program overall (and the first since the2013 finaleofAmerican Idol) to enter the Nielsen Top 10 by the end of the 2014–15 season.[55][56][57]
The2015–16 seasonmarked a notable turnaround for Fox, as it jumped ahead of ABC to third place in nationwide ratings (both in overall viewership and in the 18–49 demo) and posted several firsts for the network and on U.S. television. Its improvement was boosted by the transfer of theMiss UniverseandMiss USApageants from NBC, as well as shows such asGrease: Live,Empireand the return ofThe X-Filesafter its most recent season ending in 2002.Grease: Livebecame the first live American television musical special of the 21st century to be broadcast in front of a live studio audience (as well as the first ever live musical special aired by a non-Big Three network on primetime).
By 2016,EmpireandThe X-Filesranked in the Nielsen Top 10 for the season, the first season with 2 Fox programs entering the top rankings since theAmerican Idol-Housetandem of the 2007–2008 season (and the first ever season that Fox achieved such rankings withoutAmerican Idolor any other reality television show from Fox in the Top 10). The same year also marked thefinaleofAmerican Idolin its original run on Fox after airing for fifteen seasons, ending an era of one of the most successful shows in U.S. television history.
In February 2017, Fox broadcastSuper Bowl LI,which attracted an average 111.3 million viewers—ranking among the top five most-watched Super Bowl games, and the second-highest audience in network history behind Super Bowl XLVIII.[58]
In March 2017, Rob Wade was named Fox's new president of alternative entertainment and specials Rob Wade; he had previously worked as a showrunner forDancing with the Stars,as head of entertainment forBBC Worldwide,and as executive producer ofAmerica's Got TalentandThe X Factor.[59]
2018–present: Sale of studios to Disney, focus on non-scripted and sports programming
[edit]On July 27, 2018, in a deal first announced December 2017, and completed March 20, 2019,[60]21st Century Fox shareholders agreed tosell most of its key assets(including20th Century Fox,20th Century Fox Television,andFX Networks) toThe Walt Disney Companyfor $71.3 billion, following the spin-off of certain businesses. The sale did not include the Fox Broadcasting Company and television stations or the Fox Sports, Fox News, and Fox Business cable channels, which were to be maintained under a company tentatively referred to as "New Fox".[61][62]Because Disney already owns the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), the acquisition of the Fox network by Disney would have been illegal under the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)'s rules prohibiting a merger between any of the four major broadcast networks.[63]As a result of the Disney/Fox deal, and with themerger of CBS and Viacomon December 4, 2019, Fox has become the only major U.S. broadcast network without attachment to anyfilm studio.
It was acknowledged that Fox had placed a larger emphasis on its sports programming in its first upfronts since the deal was announced, including the acquisitions of the NFL'sThursday Night Footballpackage and rights to theFIFA World Cup.It was also noted that Fox had been increasingly pivoting towards programs that could generate large audiences, as opposed to ones that become successful primarily through critical acclaim. On June 27, 2018,WWEannounced thatSmackDownwould move to Fox on Friday nights beginning October 4, 2019, following its run onUSA Network,under a five-year contract valued at $205 million per-year.[64][65][66][67][68]The network also began to increase its non-scripted output, announcing the new celebrity music competition seriesThe Masked Singer(based on the South Korean formatKing of Mask Singer), and the new game showsMental SamuraiandSpin the Wheelfor the 2018–19 season.[69]
In August 2018, Fox Television Group CEO Dana Walden stated that the network planned to commission and acquire more series from "independent" studios not co-owned with the Big Three networks, explaining that thevertical integrationof the major broadcast networks (including Fox itself) with associated studios had limited opportunities for outside studios, and cited several top programs that were distributed by third-parties, such asThe Big Bang TheoryandThis Is Us(produced byWarner Bros. Televisionand 20th Television for CBS and NBC respectively). There were also plans for Fox to acquire new pitches directly from their writers, and offer them to outside producers. As part of the transition, Fox aimed to gradually reduce the amount of scripted programming development coming from 20th Television, although stalwarts such asThe Simpsonswould remain with the network.[69]
Following the completion of the sale, network head Dana Walden became chairwoman of Disney Television Studios and ABC Entertainment.AMCpresident Charlie Collier succeeded Gary Newman as chairman and CEO of Fox on November 1, 2018. Newman was expected to temporarily remain with Fox in a transitional role, to oversee the corporate transition.[70][71][72][73][74]The start of 2019 sawThe Masked Singerpremiere to Fox's highest ratings for a non-scripted premiere without an NFL lead-in since 2011, and record the largest-ever Nielsen ratings gain for a non-scripted series after three days of delayed viewership.[75][76][77]On January 30, 2019, Fox ordered a second season, while the first-season finale saw an average audience of 11.5 million viewers.[78][79]
With the completion of Disney's purchase the next day, the "New Fox" entity, officially named Fox Corporation, formally began trading on March 19, 2019.[60]At its 2019–20 upfronts, Fox announced 10 new scripted series for the upcoming season, with three (Almost Family,Bless the Harts,andProdigal Son) slated for the fall lineup, as well as the second and third seasons ofThe Masked Singer— scheduled for October 2019 and February 2020 respectively (with the latter premieringafterSuper Bowl LIV).[80][81][82]Fox also established a new in-house studio, Fox Alternative Entertainment, for investments in non-scripted formats. It is led by Rob Wade, while its first production was thesecond seasonofThe Masked Singer(after season 1 was produced byEndemol Shine North America).[83]
Thursday Night Footballfinished as the second highest-rated series of the 2018–19 television season in thekey demographic,behind onlySunday Night Football,whileThe Masked Singerfinished tied for third withThe Big Bang TheoryandThis Is Us.[84]In the 2019–20,Thursday Night FootballandThe Masked Singeronce again finished as the second and third highest-rated programs in the key demographic, and Fox finished the season as the highest-rated network among viewers 18–49 (with CBS leading in overall viewers).[85][86]Fox repeated this victory in the 2020–21 season, but was narrowly beaten by NBC for 2021–22 by a tenth of a ratings share.[87]In October 2022, Collier stepped down to joinRoku,with Rob Wade promoted to president and CEO of Fox Entertainment.[59]That season, Fox would loseThursday Night FootballtoAmazon Prime Video.[88]
In May 2023, Fox dropped its procedural drama9-1-1after six seasons. It had been the network's scripted tentpole since 2018. As a 20th Television production, ABC would subsequently pick up the series for a seventh season. Its spin-off9-1-1: Lone Starwould remain on Fox for the time being, with a renewal for a fifth season.[89][90]In September 2024, it was announced that9-1-1: Lone Starwould conclude after its fifth season; it was the last 20th Television-produced drama to still air on the network.[91]Fox would loseSmackDowntoUSA Networkin September 2024; as a replacement, Fox would begin a strategy of regular sports programming on Friday nights, beginning with a package of primetime college football games. The new package would leverage Fox's contract extension with theBig Ten Conference,which included options for the network to carry Friday-night games after the addition of west coast teams to the conference.[92]
Programming
[edit]As of 2015[update],Fox currently provides 17 hours of regularly scheduled network programming each week. The network provides fifteen hours of prime time programming to its owned-and-operated and affiliated stations on Monday through Saturdays from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. and Sundays from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. (all times Eastern and Pacific). An hour of late night programming is also offered on Saturdays from 11:00 p.m. to 12:00 am. Eastern and Pacific Time, a former hour of original comedy, but currently a repeat hour for primetime series (though scheduling for that hour varies depending on the market due to late local newscasts airing in the traditional 11:00 p.m./10:00 p.m. timeslot on some Fox stations), and the hour-longSunday morning political discussion show– and the network's only regular national news program –Fox News SundaywithShannon Bream(airing from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 am. Eastern and Pacific, although the timeslot also varies by market due to local news orpublic affairsprogramming).
Sports programming is also provided; usually on weekends, with notable exceptions (albeit not every weekend year-round), and most commonly airing between 11:00 a.m. and 11:30 pm. ET (often airing for longer hours during football season in the fall, slightly less duringNASCARand college basketball season in the winter and barely any in the spring and summer afternoons; however, baseball will air each Saturday evening between 7:00 and 10:00 ET), The Saturday prime time block is mainly scheduled for sports programming, with encores of shows airing when no sports programming is airing on a given week.
Adult animation
[edit]Except forThe Critic,The PJsandFuturama,which were respectively cancelled in 1995, 2000 and 2003, typically every Sunday night during prime time (unless preempted, usually by sports telecasts), Fox airs a lineup incorporating original adult animation sitcoms, all being produced (or co-produced with Fox for post-2019 works) by the network's original sister company, 20th Television, which is currently a subsidiary ofWalt Disney Television.This block of adult cartoons became a staple of the network airing under the brandAnimation Dominationfrom May 1, 2005, to September 14, 2014, when the network rebranded the block asSunday Fundayas a result of the re-incorporation of live-action comedy series on the Sunday night lineup after ten years[93](aside from occasional burn-offs of series aired on other nights during the 7:00 pm. Eastern/Pacific hour), although animated series remain an integral part of that night's schedule.
The first programs to air as part of theAnimation Dominationlineup wereAmerican Dad!(which also had its beginnings in the lineup, and moved toTBSin October 2014[94][95][96]),Family Guy(which returned to the network after a three-year cancellation whenAnimation Dominationbegan),The Simpsons(the longest-running cartoon on Fox, predating the lineup by 16 years), andKing of the Hill(which also predated the lineup by eight years). OnceKing of the Hillwas cancelled,Family Guy's spinoffThe Cleveland Showwould air from 2009 to 2013 andLoren Bouchard's next series,Bob's Burgerswould air starting in 2011. Animated shows currently airing as part of the lineup includeThe Simpsons,Family Guy,Bob's Burgers,Duncanville,The Great NorthandHousebroken.Other shows in the lineup includeSit Down, Shut Up,Allen Gregory,Napoleon Dynamite,Bordertown,Bless the Harts,and the live-action/animated hybridSon of Zorn.
An extension of the Sunday prime-time block called "Animation Domination High-Def"launched on Saturday late nights in July 2013 (marking the return of first-run programming in that time period since the 2010 cancellation ofThe Wanda Sykes Show), withADHD Shorts,Axe CopandHigh School USA!.Due to low ratings, Fox announced on April 17, 2014, that it would discontinue "Animation Domination High-Def"; although the block was slated to end on June 28, 2014,[97][98]it continued to air in encore form until the start of the 2016–17 season, when the hour returned to airing encores of comedies or reality series.
Children's programming
[edit]Fox began airing children's programming on September 8, 1990, with the debut of the Fox Children's Network (rebranded as the Fox Kids Network in 1991, and then to simplyFox Kidsin 1998), aprogramming blockthat aired onSaturday morningsandweekday afternoons.[99]Programming within the Fox Kids block consisted mainly of animated series, although it also featured some live-action series as part of the lineup. Shows featured in the block includedBobby's World,X-Men,Spider-Man,The Tick,Fun House,GoosebumpsandDigimon;it also aired select shows fromWarner Bros. Animationincluding the popular animated seriesTiny Toon Adventures,AnimaniacsandBatman: The Animated Series(Warner Bros. pulledBatmanandAnimaniacsfrom the Fox Kids lineup in September 1995, moving both shows, as well asTiny Toons– which had already ended its run – to the newly launchedKids' WBblock on The WB). Fox Kids' most successful series, however, wasMighty Morphin Power Rangers(from eventual sister company and Fox Kids co-parentSaban Entertainment), which debuted in 1993 and became the block's flagship program until it moved to ABC andToon Disneyin 2002.
In October 2001, Fox sold its children's division, Saban Entertainment andFox Family Worldwide(the parent subsidiary of cable network Fox Family Channel, nowFreeform) to The Walt Disney Company for $5.3 billion.[100]The network relegated the Fox Kids block to Saturdays in January 2002 (turning over the two-hour timeslot held by the weekday block to its owned-and-operated and affiliated stations, rather than retaining the slots and filling them with adult-oriented daytime shows[101]); then on September 14, 2002, as part of a time-lease agreement with4Kids Entertainmentto program the remaining four-hour Saturday morning lineup, Fox Kids was replaced by a new children's program block called FoxBox (which was renamed4Kids TVin January 2005). Notable programs in that block includeYu-Gi-Oh!,Kirby: Right Back at Ya!,Sonic XandOne Piece.
Fox discontinued the 4Kids TV block on December 27, 2008, due to conflicts between the network and 4Kids Entertainment that were later settled, regarding 4Kids' failure to pay Fox for the programming lease rights, and the network's inability to fulfill a promise guaranteeing clearance on 90% of its stations and to get other stations to carry the block in certain markets where a Fox station declined it (an issue that plagued Fox's children's program blocks since the start of its affiliation deal with New World Communications).[102]Fox had earlier announced, on November 23, that it would no longer carry children's programming in the time period, citing stiff competition from cable channels aimed at the demographic; the network instead turned over two of the four vacant Saturday morning hours to its affiliates to allow them to air local newscasts oreducational programspurchased from the syndication market, while it retained the remaining two hours to run a network-managed paid programming block,Weekend Marketplace,which debuted on January 3, 2009.[103]
On September 13, 2014,Xploration Station,a two-hour syndicated block produced bySteve Rotfeld Productions,began airing on Fox stations owned by several affiliate groups including Fox Television Stations andTribune Broadcasting.The block, which complies with guidelines defined by theChildren's Television Act,features programs focused on theSTEM fields.[104]Stations can choose to either carryXploration Station,continue to airWeekend Marketplace(as the Sinclair Broadcast Group chose to do, since it already carries syndicated E/I programming purchased by the company across its Fox affiliates, although Sinclair added the block on most of its Fox affiliates in September 2016) or in case of Birmingham, not at all (since Raycom Media/Gray Television carried E/I programs through existing contracts with syndicators of educational program content instead).
News
[edit]Unlike ABC, CBS, and NBC, Fox does not currently air national news programs (morning, evening or overnight) ornewsmagazineschoosing to focus solely on its prime time schedule, sports and other ancillary network programming. The absence of a national news program on the Fox network is despite the fact that its parent company, Fox Corporation, ownsFox NewsChannel, which launched in October 1996 and currently maintains near-universal distribution within the United States via pay television providers. Fox News is not structured as a news division of the Fox network, and operates as a technically separate entity within Fox Corporation through the company's Fox News Group subsidiary. However, it does produce some content that is carried by the broadcast network, which is usually separate from the news coverage aired by the cable channel; in particular, FNC anchorBill Hemmeranchors most prime time news presentations on the Fox network, especially during political news events (which are anchored byBret Baieron Fox News Channel).
Specifically, the Fox network airs coverage of theState of the Union address,presidential debates,national election coverage, as well as livebreaking newscoverage currently branded as a "Fox News Special Report" (also branded as a "Fox News Alert" or sometimes a "Fox News Red Alert" ); carriage of such special coverage of a breaking news story may vary from station to station, and is often limited to events that occur during the network's usual prime time block (for example, unlike the Big Three, Fox does not often provide coverage of majorpolitical conventionspeeches, which usually occur during the 10:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) hour during which most of its affiliates air local newscasts; however, the majority of Fox's owned-and-operated stations and affiliate groups do carry weekday breaking news briefs). The political discussion showFox News Sundayalso airs on the Fox network on Sunday mornings and is rebroadcast later in the day on FNC. Fox also operates an affiliate news service called Fox NewsEdge,[105]which launched with Fox News Channel in 1996, and provides national and international news reports, and feature stories for Fox stations to use in their own local newscasts. Between June and December 2022, Fox did not simulcastthe public January 6 committee hearingsand instead stuck with regularly scheduled programming, although ABC, CBS and NBC aired it.
Fox first tried its hand at a national news program in prime time with the hour-long weekly newsmagazineThe Reporters,which was produced by the same team behind the Fox Television Stations-distributed syndicated tabloid programA Current Affair;[106][107]the program ran from 1988 to 1990, when it was cancelled due to low ratings. From 1987 until about 1996, Fox also aired news capsules that aired within its prime time schedule, branded first asFox News Extra,and later asFox News Updates,which were produced at New York City O&O WNYW and used their anchors. Another failed attempt occurred in 1993, when Fox launchedFront Page(which included among its five hosts,Ron ReaganandJosh Mankiewicz), in an attempt to capture a younger demographic for a newsmagazine program.[108][109]
The network tried its hand at a newsmagazine again in 1998 withFox Files,hosted by Fox News Channel anchorsCatherine CrierandJon Scott,as well as a team of correspondents;[110]it lasted a little over a year before being cancelled. Its last attempt at a newsmagazine series occurred during the 2002–03Sweepsperiod, withThe Pulse,hosted by Fox News Channel anchor Shepard Smith.[111]On May 17, 2016, the network aired an interview special with then Fox News primetime anchorMegyn Kelly,Megyn Kelly Presents.
Fox also attempted national morning programs, only the first of which aired on the network itself. Its first venture at such a program wasFox After Breakfast,an hour-long morning news and lifestyle show, hosted byTom Bergeron,Laurie Hibberd,andVicki Lawrence,that ran on the network from 1996 to 1998 (Fox aired the program at 9:00 a.m. – as opposed to the 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. time slot that NBC, CBS, and ABC air their national morning shows – to accommodate local morning newscasts that ran in the latter slot on some of its stations); the program originated asBreakfast Timein 1994 on sister cable channel FX. Fox tried again in 2002 withGood Day Live,a heavily entertainment-focused syndicated offshoot ofGood Day L.A.,a news/entertainment/lifestyle program that debuted in 1993 on Los Angeles owned-and-operated station KTTV;[112]the national version of the program was cancelled in 2005. On January 22, 2007, Fox premieredThe Morning Show with Mike and Julieton its owned-and-operated stations; hosted byMike JerrickandJuliet Huddy(then-anchors of Fox News Channel'sDaySide), the show was lighter in format and more entertainment-oriented, though its focus often changed when a major news story occurred. In February 2007, the program was syndicated to other stations including many affiliated with ABC, NBC and CBS in markets where it was not carried by a Fox orMyNetworkTVaffiliate;The Morning Showwas cancelled in June 2009.[113][114]
Sports
[edit]When the network launched, Fox management, having seen the critical role that sports programming, soccer events, in particular had played in the growth of the British satellite serviceBSkyB,believed that sports – and specifically,professional footballwould be the engine that would make Fox a major network the quickest. In 1987, after ABC initially hedged on renewing its contract to broadcastMonday Night Football,Fox made an offer to the National Football League (NFL) to acquire the rights for the same amount that ABC had been paying, about $13 million per game at the time. However, partly due to the fact that Fox had not yet established itself as a major network, the NFL chose to renew its contract with ABC (whereMonday Night Footballremained until its move to sister cable channelESPNin September 2006).
Six years later, when the league entered contract negotiations with its television partners, Fox placed a $1.58 billion bid to obtain broadcast rights to the National Football Conference – covering four seasons of games, beginning with the 1994 NFL season.[32]The NFL selected the Fox bid on December 18, 1993, stripping CBS of football telecasts for the first time since 1955. The event placed Fox on par with the "Big Three" television networks and ushered in an era of growth for the NFL. Fox's acquisition of the NFL rights also quickly led toward the network reaching an affiliation deal with New World Communications to change the affiliations of twelve of its stations to Fox (see above). The rights gave Fox many new viewers and a platform for advertising its other programs.
With a sports division now established with the arrival of the NFL, Fox acquired broadcast television rights to theNational Hockey League(1994–99),[115]Major League Baseball (since 1996) andNASCARauto racing (since 2001, initially as part of a deal that also involved NBC andTNT).[116]
From 2007 to 2010, Fox aired theBowl Championship Series—a group of college footballbowl gamesheld around New Year's Day, and theBCS National Championship Game(with the exception of any event held at theRose Bowl Stadium,including theRose Bowl Gameand the Rose Bowl-hosted2010 BCS National Championship Game,as their organizer maintained a separate contract withABC). Following the conclusion of the deal, Fox acquired rights to theBig Ten ConferenceandPac-12 Conference's newly established football championship games (the latter alternating yearly with ESPN).[117][118]In 2017, Fox acquired tier 1 rights to the Big Ten Conference.[119][120]
In August 2011, Fox andmixed martial artspromotionUltimate Fighting Championship(UFC) reached a multi-year agreement, which included the rights to broadcast four live events in prime time or late night annually, marking the first time that the UFC aired its events on broadcast television. Its firstUFC on Foxevent, Velasquez vs. Dos Santos, aired on November 12, 2011.[121]This deal ended at the end of 2018, with UFC events moving toESPNandESPN+.
The network's 2023 telecast ofSuper Bowl LVIIremains the highest-rated U.S. television program on average of all time. Meanwhile, its 2017 telecast ofSuper Bowl LIremains the record holder for the largest overall audience ever tallied in U.S. television history.
On June 13, 2024, Fox announced a multi-year deal to be the sole broadcaster of theIndyCar Seriesand its subsidiary seriesIndy NXTwith all IndyCar Series races to be broadcast on the network.[122]
Stations
[edit]Fox has 18 owned-and-operated stations, and current and pending affiliation agreements with 226 additional television stations encompassing 50 states, the District of Columbia and three U.S. possessions;[123][124]through its Fox Television Stations subsidiary, Fox has the most owned-and-operated stations of the major American commercial broadcast networks. The network has a national reach of 95.77% of all households in the United States (or 299,268,292 Americans with at least one television set). Currently,New Hampshire,New JerseyandDelawareare the only U.S. states where Fox does not have a locally licensed affiliate (New Hampshire is served byBostonaffiliateWFXT,New Jersey is split between New York City O&O WNYW and Philadelphia O&O WTXF, while Delaware is served by WTXF andSalisbury, MarylandaffiliateWBOC-DT2).
Fox largely discontinued analog broadcasts on June 12, 2009, as part of thetransition to digital television.As a newer broadcast network, Fox still has a fewlow-poweraffiliates, covering markets likeYoungstown, Ohio(WYFX-LD). In some markets, including both of the ones mentioned, these stations also maintain simulcasts on asubchannelof a co-owned/managed full-power television station. Fox also maintains a sizeable number of subchannel-only affiliations in cities located outside the 50 largest Nielsen-designated markets that do not have enough full-power stations to support a standalone affiliation or have a low-power station as the only other option as an affiliate, though a couple have appeared in the top 50; the largest subchannel-only Fox affiliate by market size isWSYX-DT3 inColumbus, Ohio,No. 34 by Nielsen.
Nexstar Media Groupis Fox's largest affiliate group in terms of overall market and numerical reach, with 42 stations (including some former Fox O&Os that were spun off in 2008 toLocal TV,whichTribune Medialater acquired in 2013, to finance former Fox parent News Corporation's purchase ofThe Wall Street Journal;Nexstar purchased Tribune in the fall of 2019);[125]theSinclair Broadcast Groupis the second largest operator of Fox stations by numerical total, owning or providing services to 26 Fox-affiliated stations.
Fox previously distributed its programming in markets that did not have enough stations to support an affiliate viaFoxnet,a cable channel acting as an alternate national feed for small and certain mid-sized U.S. markets (generally those within the bottom 110 Nielsen media markets) that launched in 1991 and operated until its shutdown on September 12, 2006; the channel featured a master schedule of programs acquired from the syndication market and somebrokered programmingto fill time slots not occupied by Fox network programming. The concept behind Foxnet served as the basis forThe WB 100+ Station Group(launched in September 1998 as the cable-only feed of The WB) andThe CW Plus(the immediate successor of The WB 100+, which launched in September 2006 as a cable-only/digital multicast feed of The CW), which both allow the customization of localized branding (which Foxnet did not allow its cable partners to do) in addition to allowing affiliates to sell local advertising.
Differences between Fox and the "Big Three" networks
[edit]Network programming
[edit]Fox's programming schedule differs from the "Big Three" networks in several significant ways: the network airs its prime time programming for only two hours on Monday through Saturday evenings and three hours on Sundays, compared to the three hours on Monday through Saturdays (from 8:00 to 11:00 p.m.) and four hours on Sunday nights (from 7:00 to 11:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific Time) programmed by the three longer-established networks, ABC, CBS and NBC. This scheduling is termed as "common prime", referring to the programming of prime time content across all of the conventional broadcast networks during the early- and mid-evening hours, while the 10:00 p.m. (Eastern) hour is programmed only by the three older networks.
Fox has traditionally avoided programming the 10:00 p.m. hour, choosing to cede the time period to its local affiliates for them to program, many of which air local newscasts during that hour; however, some exceptions do exist for select special film presentations, which by virtue of theirrunning time(depending on whether the film's original length, combined with commercial breaks that would be included in the television cut, would exceed a traditional two-hour broadcast timeslot) must spill over into the 10:00 p.m. hour, overruns from live sports telecasts scheduled to air during prime time and new primetime entertainment programming after primetime (6:30 pm ET)NFL playoffgames. However, the network did regularly schedule programming in the 10:00 p.m. hour on Sunday nights from September 1989 to September 1993 (when that specific time period was turned back over to its affiliates),[126]although it never added programming at that hour on any other night. Fox's original reason for the reduced number of prime time hours was to avoid fulfilling FCC requirements in effect at the time to be considered a network,[127][128]and to be free of resulting regulations, although these rules have since been relaxed.
Despite being a major network, in addition to not carrying national morning and evening newscasts, Fox also does not air any networkdaytimeprogramming (such as soap operas, game shows or talk shows). Because of this, the network's owned-and-operated stations and affiliates handle the responsibility of programming daytime hours with syndicated or locally produced programming (then corporate sister20th Televisiondistributes several syndicated daytime programs carried by many Fox stations, such asDivorce CourtandThe Wendy Williams Show;Fox Television Stations also test markets certain series from 20th Television and other syndicators such asWarner Bros. Television Distributionthat are proposed for national distribution on some of its stations).[129][130]The network also does not carry network-supplied children's programming on Saturday mornings or late-night programming on Monday through Friday nights. Local affiliates either produce their own programming or run syndicated programs during these time periods. Because of the erratic scheduling of the network's sports programming, many Fox stations choose to run a mix of syndicated programming, infomercials and especially movies to fill weekend afternoon timeslots when a sports event is not scheduled to air.
In addition, from the network's inception, Fox has produced two versions of its program promotions for distribution to the network's stations: a standard version incorporating airtimes based on their broadcast in the Eastern/Central or Pacific/Mountain time zones, depending on the feed used by the station (as those seen during network commercial breaks), and versions with "clean" end tags to allow stations to include local airtime and station information throughgraphical insertionand verbal continuity by stationpromotional announcersduring the program logo graphic or prime time menu. This practice—which differs from that long used by ABC, NBC and CBS, which only allow their stations to insert logos within their network promotions—was also later adopted by The WB and UPN (and their successors The CW, and to a lesser extent, MyNetworkTV) for use by their affiliated stations. A third cut of these promos exists for national program advertising carried by cable networks (including Fox's sister cable networks), where the wording "check local listings" is placed in the end tag.
Fox is the only broadcast network that currently carriesadult animatedcomedies. This started withThe Simpsonsin 1989. This is followed up byKing of the Hillin 1997 (until 2009, with the last remaining six episodes airing on syndication, but is set to return toHulufor new episodes in 2025),Family Guy(which was cancelled twice until being picked up byAdult Swimfor reruns and was brought back by the network in 2005 thanks to home video sales) andFuturamain 1999 (until 2003 when it was also picked up by Adult Swim only to be purchased byComedy Centralfor new episodes between 2008 and 2013 and returned for new episodes on Hulu in 2023),American Dad!in 2005 (until 2014 whenTBSpicked up the series),The Cleveland Showin 2009,Bob's Burgersin 2011,Duncanvillein 2020, andThe Great NorthandHousebrokenin 2021. Although the network also aired other adult animated shows likeThe Critic,The PJs,Sit Down, Shut Up,Allen Gregory,Napoleon Dynamite,Bordertown,Son of Zorn(the network's only live-action/animated hybrid sitcom) andBless the Harts,they had no success and were short-lived. While ABC, CBS, and NBC have tried to copy the success of Fox with adult animated shows, none were successful.
News programming
[edit]Within Fox's station body, the quantity of locally produced news programming varies considerably compared to the owned-and-operated and affiliated stations of ABC, NBC, and CBS (which typically carry at least 4½ hours of local newscasts on weekdays and one hour on weekends, which are usually spread across morning, midday, early or late evening timeslots). At minimum, most Fox stations run a late-evening newscast following the network's prime time lineup (at 10:00 p.m. in the Eastern and Pacific, and 9:00 p.m. in theCentralandMountain Time Zones), which typically run 30 minutes to one hour in length; besides the fact that the network's stations have more latitude to air an earlier late-evening newscast since Fox does not program that hour, this stems from the fact that several of its charter stations were already airing prime time newscasts as independent stations prior to the network's launch (such as New York City O&O WNYW, which debuted its 10:00 p.m. newscast in March 1967). Most Fox stations also carry a weekday morning newscast of one to three hours in length at 7:00 am, as a local alternative to the national morning news programs provided by the "Big Three" networks (though mainly in the case of Fox stations that have a news operation and in a few cases, via simulcasts with ABC-, NBC- and CBS-affiliated stations that operate a Fox affiliate, this is often part of a morning news block that runs for four to six hours on average).
Fox has fewer stations that have an independent news operation than those of ABC, NBC and CBS; as of October 2015[update],70 of Fox's 236 stations (including all 18owned-and-operated stations) maintain in-house news departments (compared to roughly5⁄8–7⁄8of the stations of each of the three other major broadcast networks, whose newscasts are either produced in-house or in conjunction with another station).KVVU(channel 5) inLas Vegashas the highest weekly total of news programming hours among Fox's stations, at 78½ hours.
Most Fox stations that run a news operation use a newscast-intensive scheduling format that is very similar to an ABC-, NBC-, or CBS-affiliated station which in many cases, may incorporate midday or early-evening newscasts, the latter of which is often extended by a half-hour to compete with the national evening newscasts provided by the "Big Three" networks; some Fox stations except for those owned by Fox Television Stations and those formerly owned by Tribune Broadcasting air their early-evening newscasts only on Monday through Friday nights, due to frequent sports event overruns into that daypart on weekends. The first Fox station to adopt such a scheduling format was WSVN in Miami; upon affiliating with the network in January 1989, WSVN retained its existing morning, midday and early evening newscasts, while moving its late newscast from 11:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. and expanding it to one hour (the station later relaunched an 11:00 p.m. newscast in 1995), and expanding its weekday morning newscast by two hours. This type of format was later adopted by the former major network stations that switched to Fox between 1994 and 1996, especially those affected by New World and Burnham Broadcasting affiliation deals. Many Fox stations with upstart news departments often do not run a full slate of newscasts initially, usually carrying only a prime time newscast at first, before gradually adding other newscasts over time.
In many small to mid-sized markets (largely those ranked outside the 50 largestNielsen-designatedtelevision markets), production of the local Fox affiliate's newscasts is outsourced to an NBC, ABC, or CBS station – either due to insufficient funds or studio space for a news department or in most cases, as a byproduct of the station being operated through a legalduopolyor amanagement agreementwith a major network affiliate (such as withCunningham Broadcasting-ownedWEMT(channel 39) inGreeneville, Tennessee,which has its newscasts produced by NBC affiliateWCYB-TV(channel 5) through a local marketing agreement with Sinclair Broadcast Group). Fox affiliates that outsource their news production to a major-network affiliate often carry a lesser amount of news programming than is possible with an affiliate with a standalone news department due to the contracting station's preference to avoid having the Fox station's newscasts compete against their own in common timeslots (differing from outsourcing agreements between two same-market ABC, CBS, or NBC affiliates in certain areas, in which both stations may simulcast newscasts in the same timeslots). The lone exceptions to this rule currently areEl Paso, TexasaffiliateKFOX-TV(channel 14) and WXIN, which respectively began producing newscasts for their CBS-affiliated duopoly partners using resources from their existing news departments in September 2014 (when new sister stations KFOX andKDBC-TV(channel 4) consolidated their operations into a single facility) and January 2015 (when WXIN sisterWTTV(channel 4) affiliated with CBS), with the Fox stations maintaining the same amount of news programming that they did beforehand.[131][132]Another exception isKNPN-LD(channel 26) inSt. Joseph, Missouri,which has been the smallest Fox affiliate by market size with an in-house news operation since the station's July 2012 sign-on;News-Press & Gazette Companyexpanded production of KNPN's newscasts to its sister flagship stations,KNPG-LD(channel 21) andKCJO-LD(channel 30), when they respectively joined NBC and CBS in November 2016 and June 2017, though the former also maintained roughly the same amount of news programming before the conversions (KNPN airs morning, midday and early evening newscasts on weekdays and a nightly late evening newscast; all three stations simulcast the first 90 minutes of the morning newscast, while the remainder of KNPN's newscasts air in separate time slots from those seen on KNPG and KCJO).
WPGH-TV(channel 53) inPittsburghis the largest Fox station by Nielsen market ranking (at #23) that outsources its news programming; NBC affiliateWPXI(channel 11; owned byCox Media Group) has produced the station's 10:00 p.m. newscast since 2006, when WPGH shut down its news department following the closure of owner Sinclair Broadcast Group'sNews Centraldivision.[133]A few Fox affiliates only air syndicated programming in time periods where newscasts would air on other major network stations. The largest Fox station by market size that does not carry news programming isWSYT(channel 68) inSyracuse, New York(which discontinued a 10:00 p.m. newscast produced by CBS affiliateWTVH(channel 5) in 2006). InDayton, Ohio,Sinclair Broadcast Group took the unusual step in August 2015 of adoptingFox 45 Newsas its universal brand for its news operation in that market, making it appear as if the news department was operated byWRGT-TV,even though it actually belongs to WRGT's virtual duopoly partner, ABC affiliateWKEF,which Sinclair owns outright (newscasts on WKEF would be branded as "Fox 45 News on ABC22"); Sinclair used WRGT over WKEF due to the latter's perennial" also-ran "reputation in the market in regard to their newscast ratings. WRGT and WKEF have since switched to a new branding model in the summer of 2019 involving a 24/7 web news service known as" Dayton 24/7 Now ", and in 2021, WRGT's Fox affiliation moved to WKEF's second subchannel (along with a number of other Sinclair or related companies in several other markets), as Sinclair consolidated its network affiliations onto one station in a market to address regulatory concerns.
Related services
[edit]Video-on-demand services
[edit]Fox maintains severalvideo on demandvenues for viewers to watch the network's programming, including a traditional VOD service called Fox on Demand, which is carried on most traditional cable, satellite, streaming, and telecom providers. Fox also streams most of its programming on the streaming video serviceHulu,along with traditional streaming via the network's Full Episode portal on Fox.com. The network's mobile anddigital media playerapp was branded as "Fox Now", and featured access to a live stream of the network's primetime and sports programming (though not local and syndicated programming for affiliates not owned by the network), along with full-time live streams of their owned cable networks withTV Everywhereauthentication through authorized television providers.
The most recent episodes of the network's shows are usually made available on the Fox on Demand television service the day after their original broadcast. In addition,fast forwardingcapabilities are disabled while viewing content (a commonality for video-on-demand television services provided by the U.S. broadcast networks) and the program's original advertisements that aired during the initial broadcast are included for a week after becoming available on the service, before being replaced bydirect responseadvertising thereafter. Due to restrictions put in place by the network in January 2012 to encourage live or same-weekDVRviewing via traditional and cable on demand methods, Hulu and Fox.com both impose an eight-day delay for most viewers to access the most recent episode of any Fox program,restricting day-after-air streamingof its shows on both services to subscribers of certain pay television providers (such asDish NetworkandVerizon FiOS) using anISPaccount through agreements made with Fox, along with Hulu's free service with advertisements on Yahoo! Stream;[134]however, Hulu offers newer episodes of Fox programs the day after their original broadcast to paid subscribers requiring only a user-determined login.
In March 2020, Fox began to stream the full schedule of all of their owned Fox Television Stations through Fox Now.[135]The following month, Fox acquired the ad-supported streaming serviceTubi.[136]The service primarily offers content and channels licensed from third-party studios, but later began to add episodes of Fox Entertainment original series (such asThe Masked Singer) a week after their television premiere.[137][138][139][140]
Fox discontinued the Fox Now app in July 2023; streaming of the network's programming would continue on other apps instead, such as Hulu, Fox Local, or Tubi.[141]
Fox HD
[edit]
Fox began broadcasting its programming in720phigh definitionon September 12, 2004, with that day's slate of NFC football games during week one of the2004 NFL season.Until March 14, 2016, the network did not display anon-screen logo graphicon the bottom-right corner of the screen, outside a ten-second sweep of a "Fox HD" promotional logo (which until the end of 2010, also featured a sponsor tag forDirecTV); instead a trigger in Fox's program delivery system at each station displayed the logo bug of an owned-and-operated or affiliate station in the right-hand corner of the 16:9 screen frame, which disappeared during commercial breaks (the station logo bug would still be triggered even if Fox programming was pre-empted locally due to breaking news,severe weathercoverage or special programming, though some stations, such asWGGB-DT2inSpringfield, Massachusetts,did not display a logo or substitute only the "FOX" logo alone). However, network or affiliate bugs are not displayed during Fox Sports programming. During some high-profile or live programs such asAmerican IdolandSo You Think You Can Dance,however, Fox forwent the affiliate's logo and displayed its network logo instead, mainly for promotional consideration due tofair useof clips from each series by other media outlets (such as news programs, talk shows, and review and satirical programs that rely on clip content); until 2014, the bug was placed in the4:3safe area.The Sunday political talk programFox News Sundaydisplayed the "Fox HD" logo at all times for both that reason and because of many stations airing the program ontape delaylater in the morning. Beginning on March 14, 2016, the standard Fox logo withhashtagis now used on all programming, with the station bug flashed for a few moments at the start of a program or coming out of commercial, as is traditionally done with ABC, CBS and NBC stations. In addition, the Fox HD bug was discontinued; although it was still used onFox News Sundayuntil around late 2019-early 2020.
On some Fox programs, a hashtag rests above the affiliate's logo (for example,#newgirlor#bones) to provide viewers reference to the network's official Twitter search tag to find or start discussions during the program being broadcast. In April 2012, additional tags relating to plot points in a given episode (for instance, the#saturdaynightGLEEvertag for an April 2012 episode ofGleeof that same title) began to also be promoted in this space to both add additional trending topics and spread out more conversations on Twitter.[142]In cases where the Fox bug appears instead of the station's logo bug, the Twitter hashtag is directly above the Fox logo in the safe area. Fox's coverage of theWorld Seriesstarted broadcasting in HD with Game 1 of the2002 World Series.
During the transitional period from analog to digital television, Fox was the only commercial television network in the U.S. to air programs inwidescreenthat were not available in HD (which were identified as being presented in "Fox High Resolution Widescreen" from 2001 to 2006). Prior to the launch of its HD feed, some sitcoms and drama series were presented in widescreenstandard-definition,with reality, talk and game shows (American Idolbeing the first major exception, as it began to be presented in high definition in 2008) later being presented only in widescreenenhanced definition.The children's sports programThis Week in Baseballbegan airing in widescreen in 2009, whileFox News Sundayconverted to HD when Fox News Channel began operating from its new high-definition facilities in November 2008 (prior to Fox News Channel's conversion to a unified widescreen presentation on both its high-definition and standard-definition feeds in September 2010, it was the final Fox News program to structure its graphics and camera positions for the 4:3 safe area).MADtvwas produced to air only in 4:3 until September 2008, likely due to a combination of stations tape-delaying the program and therefore being unable to offer it via the live network feed in 16:9, and the show's producers not making the switch to the format. The final Fox show to convert to HD wasFamily Guybeginning with itsSeptember 26, 2010,episode; all programming provided by Fox is now broadcast in widescreenandin high definition as of 2013[update],and inDolby Digital5.1 surround sound.
Fox is unique among U.S. broadcasters as it distributes its HD feed over satellite to the network's affiliates as anMPEG transport streamintended to be delivered bit-for-bit for broadcast transmission. During network programming hours, local commercials are inserted over the feed using a transport stream splicer.[143]Affiliates of most other networks decode compressed satellite network video feeds and then re-encode them for final over-the-air transmission.[citation needed]
After Fox began broadcasting its sports programming with graphics optimized for 16:9 displays rather than the 4:3 safe area in late July 2010, the network asked cable and satellite providers to comply and use the No. 10Active Format Descriptionflag it now disseminates over Fox programming, which displays content natively broadcast in 16:9 in aletterboxedformat suitable for 4:3 television screens to allow any optimized graphical elements to be displayed in full.[144][145]Subsequently, a number of Fox O&Os and affiliates also began disseminating the AFD No. 10 flag over local news and syndicated programs that the stations broadcast in HD, and have incorporated graphical elements seen during local programs and on-air promos (as well as logo bugs) optimized for the letter boxed presentation.
Branding
[edit]Station standardization
[edit]During the early 1990s, Fox began having its stations use a branding structure using a combination of the "Fox" name and the station's channel number, often followed by the licensed call letters (for instance, WNYW in New York City, WTTG in Washington, D.C. andWAGA-TVin Atlanta, Georgia, are all branded as "Fox 5" ). By the mid-to-late 1990s, stations minimized their call letters to be just barely readable while still in compliance with FCC identification requirements. This marked the start of the trend for other networks to apply such naming schemes.
The branding scheme has varied in some markets, with some Fox stations using a city or regional name within the branding instead of the channel number (for example, Chicago owned-and-operated station WFLD branded as "Fox Chicago" from 1997 to 2012[146]and Philadelphia O&OWTXF-TVbranded as "Fox Philadelphia" from 1995 to 2003); a few of the network's stations also minimized use of the "Fox" name, opting to use their call letters or a more generic branding (WSVN in Miami, which has branded as "WSVN 7" for general use and "(Channel) 7 News" for its newscasts since it joined the network in January 1989; KHON-TV (channel 2) inHonolulu,which changed its general branding from "Fox 2" to "KHON 2" in 2003; WDRB in Louisville, Kentucky, which dropped its "Fox 41" brand in favor of branding by its call letters in September 2011;[147]andKVRR(channel 15) inFargo, North Dakota,which dropped the generic "Fox" branding it used in part due to its network ofrepeater stationsthroughout eastern North Dakota in favor of branding by its calls in May 2015). Similarly, most of the stations that switched to Fox as a result of its 1994 affiliation deal with New World Communications retained their Big Three-era branding for general or news purposes (with a few exceptions such asWJWin Cleveland, which dropped its CBS-era "TV8" and "Newscenter 8" brands in 1995, in favor of "Fox is ei8ht "as a general brand andei8ht is Newsas the title for its newscasts; likewise that same year,KDFWin Dallas/Fort Worth re-branded itself as "Fox 4 Texas" after its newscast name of "News 4 Texas" before shortening its ID to simply "Fox 4" in 1996 and changing its newscast name to "Fox 4 News", both in use since then), before conforming to Fox's station branding conventions when Fox Television Stations acquired New World in 1997.
A particularly unique situation was withKTVU(channel 2) inOakland-San Francisco, which as a Fox affiliate under longtime ownerCox Media Group,retained its perennial "Channel 2" brand (with limited references as "Fox Channel 2" by the early 1990s). In 1996, the station rebranded as "KTVU Fox 2" for general purposes (adding the Fox logo on the underside of the top line of its heritage "Circle Laser 2" logo as well), while retaining "(KTVU) Channel 2 News"as the branding for its newscasts. Fox Television Stations (which traded WFXT in Boston andWHBQ-TV(channel 13) inMemphisstation to Cox in 2014, in exchange for KTVU and sister stationKICU-TV) instituted the "KTVU Fox 2" branding full-time in February 2015, retaining the "Circle Laser 2" both within the group's standardized "boxkite" logo and in an alternate version (which would become the primary logo through its de-emphasis of the O&O standardization later that year) placed next to a prominent Fox wordmark.[148]Another situation also includes another Fox stationKCPQinSeattle,Washington, which as a Fox affiliate underTribune MediaandNexstar Media Group,also retained the "Q13 Fox" name as well as the "Q13 News" name for its newscast until KCPQ dropped the Q13 moniker and rebranded itself to "Fox 13" in September 2021, conforming with the branding of other Fox O&O stations after its acquisition by Fox.
Starting in 2006, more standardization of the O&Os began to take place both on-air and online. All of the network's O&Os began adopting an on-air look more closely aligned with theFox NewsChannel, which included a standardized red, white and blue boxkite-style logo augmented by red pillars (which rotated on-air, particularly in the logo bugs seen during newscasts). After News Corporation's acquisition of the social networking siteMyspace(which it sold in June 2011 to a consortium that included singerJustin Timberlakeamong its backers), some Fox O&Os launched websites with identical layouts and similar URL domains under the "MyFox" scheme (such as MyFoxDC.com for WTTG). On-air usage of the FNC-inspired logos was reduced in August 2012 (when a new standardized graphics package was implemented, withwordmarkbugs being used during newscasts and other programming), while several of the O&Os ceased using the "MyFox" domains in 2015; the use of the Fox News Channel boxkite logos in all elements, along with explicit connections with the latter, was drastically reduced since the July 2016 resignation of Roger Ailes from Fox for a more traditional and simpler 'call-channel number' horizontal wordmark style which is more flexible with both traditional television and smaller mobile screens. In 2017, Fox's local newscast music composer,Stephen Arnold Music,released a new news music package, "Beyond", that uses none of the Fox News Channel sonic elements associated with the previous Fox O&O music package, and it has rolled out across all Fox O&O local news operations.
As of 2017, Fox O&O's with a sister MyNetworkTV station in that market have also begun to play down that network, with many MyNetworkTV O&O's now taking on the branding of "Fox (channel number) Plus/Xtra/More", etc., suggesting them as an extension of their higher-profile sister Fox station. Several of these stations now also carry extended newscasts or rebroadcasts of earlier newscasts from their sister stations during primetime, pushing MyNetworkTV's schedule to a late night offering.
Logos
[edit]When Fox launched on October 9, 1986, as Fox Broadcasting Company, it used a logo with three squares containing the network's initials (FBC) similar to BBC's current logo from 1997–present in the UK. Below it was a rectangle with the network's full name in the same font. This logo is mostly the same color as theITV's old logo from 1998 to 2004 in the UK, which was used during the network's first six months in existence and was primarily featured as a network identification slide at the beginning ofThe Late Show with Joan Rivers.[149]On April 5, 1987, when the network inaugurated its prime time programming, a more familiar logo based on 20th Century Fox's signature logo design was introduced,[149]featuring just the capitalized "FOX" name alongside the familiar trademarksearchlightsand double-pane platform (Fox's owned-and-operated stations used a variant for station identifications from 1987 to 1989, which incorporated both an "O" and searchlight innegative space,the latter of which intersected the "X" and panes within the otherwise translucent yellow/gold logo; until as late as the mid-1990s, some Fox affiliates that did not license the regulation network logo, or which usedCGIto output their station logos with local production houses which tried to emulate the parent network's logo as close as possible, used those that imitated the 20th Century Fox-inspired design in their station logos).
In September 1993, the familiar logo was given a more "hip" makeover, with the "FOX" wordmark overhauled into its current proprietary logotype and the angle changed, removing the tilting (the 1987 logo remained in use during the 1993–94 season in print advertisements featured inTV Guideand other television listings magazines).[149]Starting with the introduction of this logo, the network began displaying anon-screen bugwithin its programs on the lower right-hand corner of the screen (initially for one minute at the start of each program segment or act, eventually being displayed throughout the program outside commercial breaks, before reverting to the former display format regularly upon the 2009 digital transition). The "O" character also underwent a makeover, acquiring its trademark pillar-likebowl,which has since become a major focal point for the logo and Fox advertising in lieu of the searchlight motif. The "O" is alternately used as azerocharacter in the station logo of several Fox affiliates which have atenschannel location, includingPhoenix's channel 10,KSAZ-TV,andSacramentoaffiliateKTXL-TV,channel 40.
Another revised logo was introduced for the 1995–96 television season, removing the searchlights, but retaining the two lower panes and adding a third pane atop the logotype. A variant of the original 1993 design was implemented in 1996, excluding the panes underneath the network name, but restoring the searchlights placed behind the "F" and "X" in the Fox wordmark.[149]
The current version of the logo was introduced in 1999, removing the searchlights completely and switching the logo exclusively to a wordmark design.[149]Despite this, the searchlight theme remained an integral part of 21st Century Fox's branding efforts; they are still incorporated into Fox News Channel's logo, and the universal station logo introduced in 2006 by Fox's owned-and-operated stations – which were retained by the seven former O&Os that Fox Television Stations sold in 2008 to Local TV and had spread to several Fox stations owned by Tribune Broadcasting (including those it acquired through the company's 2013 merger with Local TV; the logo introduced by the O&Os was modified for Tribune's Fox affiliates in 2012 to feature only one searchlight as part of the company's graphical standardizations for those stations) and certain other Fox affiliates not owned or operated by either company. The 1996–99 searchlight logo is still used within the logos of a small number of Fox affiliates; the searchlights continued to be featured in the logo of sister channel FX until a rebranding effort in 2008. The screen bug may have been used from 1999 to 2014; when the network upgraded to high-definition, the watermark placement remained at the 480i format. Until March 14, 2016, they did not display the on-screen bug, just the hashtag missing the Fox bug, used on some affiliates.
For the 2019–20 season, Fox implemented branding elements by Trollbäck + Company with the logo mark slightly thickened, along with animations of the mark with its shapes incorporated into advertising and on-air branding elements (including an animation of the abstract shapes morphing into the main Fox logo).[150]
Controversy
[edit]Controversy surrounded the network in 2002 and 2003 over profanity, expressed respectively byCherandNicole Richie,aired live during Fox's broadcast of theBillboard Music Awardson its affiliates in the Eastern and Central Time Zones despite the use of five-secondaudio delays;the indecent material was edited out when the program was broadcast in other time zones from the Mountain Time Zone westward.[151]Both of the obscene instances were condemned by theParents Television Council,[152][153]and named by them among the worst instances on television from 2001 to 2004.[154]PTC members filed tens of thousands of complaints to the Federal Communications Commission regarding the broadcasts. A subsequent apology made by Fox representatives was labeled a "sham" by PTC presidentL. Brent Bozell III,who argued that the network could have easily used an audio delay to edit out the obscene language.[155]As the FCC was investigating the broadcasts, in 2004, Fox announced that it would begin extending live broadcast delays to five minutes from its standard five or ten seconds to more easily be able to edit out obscenities uttered over the air.[156]In June 2007, in the caseFederal Communications Commission v. Fox Television Stations,theU.S. Second Circuit Court of Appealsruled that the FCC could not issue indecency fines against Fox because it does not have the authority to fine broadcasters for fleeting expletives,[157]such as in the case of the Billboard Awards. The FCC eventually decided to appeal the Second Circuit Court's finding.[158]TheU.S. Supreme Courtgranted certiorari and oral arguments in FCC v. Fox, et al., began November 4, 2008.[159]
The Parents Television Council has also criticized many popular Fox shows for perceived indecent content, such asAmerican Dad!,[160]Arrested Development,[161]The Simpsons,[162]Family Guy,[163]Hell's Kitchen,[164]Married... with Children,[165]Prison Break,[166]andThat '70s Show.[167]The Council sometimes has gone even as far as to file complaints with the Federal Communications Commission regarding indecent content within Fox programming, having done so forThat '70s Show[168]andMarried by America,having successfully been able to get the FCC to fine the network nearly $1 million for its airing of the latter program.[169]That fine was reduced to $91,000 in January 2009 after an appeal of the fine by Fox was granted as a result of its earlier discovery that the FCC originally claimed to have received 159 complaints regarding the content inMarried by America;it later admitted to only receiving 90, which came from only 23 people. A study of the complaints by bloggerJeff Jarvisdeduced that all but two werevirtually identicalto each other, meaning that the $1.2 million judgment was based on original complaints written by a total ofonly three people.[citation needed]
Presidents of Fox Broadcasting Company Entertainment
[edit]| Executive | Term | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Garth Ancier | 1986–1989 | In 1986,Barry Diller,Jamie KellnerandRupert Murdochtapped the then 28-year-old Ancier to be the first Entertainment President for the Fox Broadcasting Company,[170]where he put21 Jump Street,Married... with Children,Cops,The SimpsonsandIn Living Coloron the air. Ancier ultimately went from Fox (resigning March 1, 1989) toDisneyas president of network television forWalt Disney Studioson April 18, 1989.[171] |
| Peter Chernin | 1989–1992 | During Chernin's tenure as president of entertainment for the Fox Broadcasting Company, programming grew from two to seven nights a week. |
| Sandy Grushow | 1992–1994 | In this particular leadership role, Grushow oversaw the development and launch ofThe X-Files,Melrose Place,Party of Five,Living SingleandMADtvwhile also expanding the network from four to seven nights of primetime programming. |
| John Matoian | 1994–1996 | He officially became the president of Entertainment at Fox Broadcasting in September 1995.[172][173]However, in 1996, Matoian left Fox and soon he became the president ofHBO.[174] |
| Peter Roth | 1996–1998 | He appeared in a short cameo in theAlly McBealepisode, "Silver Bells".It was first broadcast December 15, 1997.[175]Network shows under Roth's tenure includedAlly McBeal,Buffy the Vampire Slayer,Millennium,That '70s ShowandKing of the Hill. |
| Doug Herzog | 1998–2000 | The PJs,Futurama,Malcolm in the Middleand both reality showsWhen Animals Attack!andWorld's Wildest Police Videoswere launched under Herzog's watch. |
| Gail Berman | 2000–2005 | Network shows under Berman's tenure includedAmerican Idol,The Simple Life,Hell's Kitchen,Nanny 911,Arrested Development,The Bernie Mac Show,The War at Home,24,House,Bones,Prison Break,The O.C.,American Dad!andFamily Guy(although debuted during Herzog's era, still became an overnight success during Berman's era). |
| Peter Liguori | 2005–2007 | Liguori has been credited with helping the channelFXgrow in prominence.[176][177]And prior to assuming that position in 2005, Liguori was president and CEO of News Corp.'s FX Networks since 1998, overseeing business and programming operations for FX and Fox Movie Channel.[178]'Til DeathandTalkshow with Spike Ferestendebuted under Liguori's watch. |
| Kevin Reilly | 2007–2014 | Reilly introduced or championedSleepy HollowandBrooklyn Nine-Nine,as well asThe Following,Fringe,The Cleveland Show,Bob's Burgers,Glee,The Mindy Project,Raising Hope,andNew Girl.Reilly also championed a "no pilot season" strategy (designed to nurture fewer new FOX shows with more investment), during which he was responsible for greenlighting hit showsGotham,The Last Man on EarthandEmpire.[179][180][181]He left Fox in May 2014.[182] |
| David Madden | 2014–2017 | During Madden's tenure,The X-Filesand24returned to the network with huge ratings. The NFL coverage ofSuper Bowl LIwould be the second highest viewed Super Bowl coverage during this time. |
| Michael Thorn | 2017–present | The Orville,The Gifted,9–1–1,The Resident,Fantasy Island,The Great North,Duncanville,Bless the Harts,Housebroken,The Masked Singer,Beat Shazam,Mental SamuraiandSpin the Wheelwere launched under Thorn. |
See also
[edit]
- Foxtel
- Fox Broadcasting Co. v. Dish Network, LLC
- List of United States over-the-air television networks
- Lists of Fox television affiliates
- Lists of United States network television schedules
References
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- ^Steel, Emily (July 15, 2014)."Dana Walden and Gary Newman to Lead New Fox Television Group".The New York Times.
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- ^Malone, Michael (April 17, 2014)."Exclusive: Fox Scrapping Animation Domination HD Saturday Block".Broadcasting & Cable.RetrievedJune 30,2014.
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Further reading
[edit]- "Networks: Fox Broadcasting Company".MovieStaff.com.RetrievedJune 17,2010.
- Block, Alex Ben (1990).Outfoxed.St. Martin's Press.ISBN0-312-03904-2.
- Kimmel, Daniel M.(2004).The Fourth Network.I.R. Dee.ISBN1-56663-572-1.
External links
[edit]
- Official website
- Foxat theWayback Machine(archived October 22, 1996)
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|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |