There is no denying that ESPN is the 800 pound gorilla of sports TV networks. Executives at Fox Sports know this.

“ESPN, quite frankly, is a machine,” says Billy Wanger, the head of programming for Fox Sports. “We are coming in trying to take on the establishment; it is no different than what happened with Fox News, or Fox Broadcasting back in the 80s. We are going to have to scratch and claw our way all the way to the top.”

Shanks was talking about Fox Sports 1, the upcoming national cable sports channel that News Corp. is launching in August. News Corp. COO Chase Carey called it “the worst kept secret in TV,” but it is no longer a secret. At a lavish upfront for media buyers in midtown yesterday afternoon and evening, executives at News Corp. formally unveiled the channel.

The beating heart of sports TV is live games, and FS1 will be coming out of the gate with the strongest lineup outside of Bristol, CT. Major League Baseball games–including playoff games–will be available on the channel, as will NASCAR races, UFC fights, college football and basketball and UEFA and World Cup soccer.

“We believe that right now the market for sports is–I don’t want to say vast–but it is,” News Corp. senior VP and Fox Sports founding president David Hill says. “There is a huge percentage of the population for whom sports is vitally important, for whom sports is the best entertainment there is.”

Read more

News Corp. has formally split itself into two.

The company’s newspaper and publishing businesses will become their own company, retaining the News Corp. name. Dow Jones editor in chief Robert Thomson will become CEO of the new News Corp. January 1. The company is also shutting down The Daily, its iPad-only newspaper.

News Corp.’s TV and film businesses, which include Fox News Channel, Fox Broadcasting and 20th Century Fox, will become part of what is now called “The Fox Group.” The Fox Group will be led by Rupert Murdoch as CEO, and Chase Carey as president and COO.

“At Fox Group, what began with the acquisition of a modest film studio over 25 years ago has grown into one of the world’s most successful media companies of all times, defying conventional wisdom at every turn by pursuing excellence in creativity and innovation,” said Murdoch in a statement. “Fox Group is perfectly positioned to deliver even more inspiring stories that engage audiences through film, television, sports and digital platforms, driving not only financial results but a lasting imprint on the millions of people who enjoy our various services, in every corner of the world.”

After the jump, Murdoch’s note to staff explaining the moves.

Read more

Five years ago this week, Fox Business Network launched in some 30 million homes, and with a big party at the Met. We thought it was time to take a look back.

Today, the channel is in nearly 60 million homes (although on digital tiers outside of New York City) Update: According to Nielsen, it is now in 68 million households, and according to News Corp. COO Chase Carey it is no longer losing money. Aside from a strong performance by Lou Dobbs at 7 PM, and some non-business specials like the political conventions, the network is far behind CNBC in just about every daypart. That said, many programs, like “Varney & Co.” have had some daily wins against the more widely-distributed CNBC competition.

While there have been stalwarts of the channel (Neil Cavuto comes to mind), there have been a flurry of changes too, as is typical in the TV universe. Alexis Glick, who was there from the beginning, left two years after it launched. “Imus in the Morning” was added to the lineup, but the relationship between the provocative radio host and FBN management has ranged from cool to sour, at least on-air. That said, Imus has never said anything negative about Roger Ailes on-air.

In 2010, the network launched a new slogan and branding campaign, promoting “The Power to Prosper.”

Read more

News Corp. COO Chase Carey spoke at a conference hosted by Goldman Sachs today, and while he didn’t break any big news, there were some interesting tidbits. As The Hollywood Reporter notes, Carey said that a new round of carriage negotiations would be beginning soon for Fox News, and that the company would once again be seeking big increases in fees.

“We aim to take that business closer to what we think reflects the value of that channel,” Carey said, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Carey has been speaking about how FNC is undervalued for years.

He  also addressed the long-rumored Fox Sports channel. Carey said coyly  ”We obviously haven’t announced anything,” according to B&C.

One source at News Corp. tells me that Fox is planning to move forward with the channel, which is being referred to internally as “Fox Sports 1″ or “The 1″ for short. A check of the US Patent & Trademark Office files show that Fox Sports filed for trademarks on “Fox Sports 1,” Fox Sports The 1″ and “The 1″ on September 14. Those filings do not prove that News Corp. plans to move forward with the project, but indicates that it is progressing to the point where the company wants to protect potential names for the channel.

Read more

27 of News Corp.’s Fox cable channels may be pulled from DirecTV November 1, unless the two sides can come to a new carriage agreement. The channels include FX, National Geographic Channel, Speed, Fuel TV, Fox Soccer, Fox Soccer Plus, Fox Movie Channel, Fox Deportes and the 19 Fox regional sports networks.

Fox broadcasting network, Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network are not affected by these negotiations, but the contentious back and forth is representative of recent carriage disputes in which cable and satellite companies are fighting back against increased carriage fees. News Corp. is said to be seeking carriage fee increases for Fox News when its upcoming deals expire, so it may soon find itself in a situation similar to its sports and entertainment focused siblings.

News Corp. COO Chase Carey served as CEO of DirecTV before returning to his current role, so he is likely intimately familiar with that company’s processes.

The news comes the same day that Fox has achieved something of a coup in the sports world. Sports Business Daily‘s John Ourand reports that Fox Sports has won the English-language rights to broadcast the 2018 and 2022 World Cup. ESPN, which currently holds the rights, was believed to be the favorite. NBC-owned Telemundo won the Spanish-language rights.

Dueling statements from Fox and DirecTV, after the jump.

Read more

Research firm SNL Kagan has released a report focusing on Fox Business Network. The report examines the state of the cable channel’s business, and makes some predictions as to its growth potential.

While News Corp. COO Chase Carey said that FBN will be “cash break even” this year, SNL Kagan predicts that FBN will start generating real profits starting in 2012. That said, barring some unforeseen viewing or advertising shift, it will likely remain far behind CNBC in terms of profitability.

By 2015, SNL Kagan predicts that FBN will be available in 86.5 million households (compared to 67.7M in 2011) and will be bringing in an average monthly subscription fee of $0.14 a month (compared to $0.12 in 2011).

FBN also shares a substantial problem with CNBC: the inability to count out-of-home viewing, as noted by analyst Brad Adgate.

Read more

Nearly four years since it launched, Fox Business Network is finally no longer bleeding cash. On his quarterly earnings call yesterday, News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch said that FBN was “cash break even.”

Of course, not losing money and making money are not the same thing. FBN still has significant distribution issues–it is only available in just over half of the homes that CNBC is available in, and it earns a lower sub fee. In addition, while the channel saw significant ratings bumps during the financial turmoil over the last few weeks, CNBC saw them too.

Read more

News Corp. announced its third quarter earnings today, and one of its highlights was Fox News Channel, which CFO Dave DeVoe says generated its highest quarterly operating profit ever. Overall the News Corp. cable properties constituted over 60% of operating income for the company.

Perhaps most interesting: On the conference call with analysts and the press, COO Chase Carey says that FNC will renegotiate its carriage fees with “slightly over half” of its carriage universe by Summer 2012.

FNC is currently available in over 95 million homes, so it will have renegotiated deals covering more than 47.5 million homes by then. SNL Kagan estimated earlier this year that FNC receives $0.58 per subscriber per month, though the Kagan estimates can lag behind deals.FNC has been said to be seeking deals as high as $1.25 per sub.

Read more

At an investor conference in Florida yesterday, News Corp. COO Chase Carey continued to talk about Fox News Channel’s carriage fee negotiations. Carey has made it clear over the last few months that FNC believes it is in a league of its own in terms of value, with only the sports networks like ESPN more valuable.

“We’re not shy about being aggressive and asking enough,” Carey said. “We expect there should be a significant increase in the value of Fox News. We’re not asking what ESPN is asking, or anything close, but we’ll take it to another level.”

ESPN currently receieves $4.08 per subscriber per month, according to SNL Kagan, while FNC receives an average of $0.58 per month. The SNL Kagan numbers can often lag behind the actual average, however.

Read more

First on TVNewser: Fox News Channel and Cablevision have inked a new, multi-year carriage agreement. The deal ensures that the news channel will remain in the cable company’s nearly three-million homes around the New York metropolitan area for the foreseeable future.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but on earnings calls over the last few quarters News Corp. COO Chase Carey has said he expects to maximize affiliate fees for FNC, comparing the network to ESPN in terms of whether it is a “must-carry” channel.

“We are pleased to have worked with Cablevision to reach a fair agreement that allows us to continue our partnership providing FOX News Channel programming to Cablevision customers,” said Tim Carry, vice president of affiliate relations for FNC, in a statement

The network was believed to be seeking carriage fees as high as $1.25 per subscriber per month. SNL Kagan estimates that the channel currently receives an average of $0.58 per subscriber per month, though those figures are often on the conservative side.

More information in the release, after the jump.

Read more