Fox Corp. Names Paul Ryan To Board -- WSJ
March 20 2019 - 3:02AM
Dow Jones News
By Allison Prang and Benjamin Mullin
This article is being republished as part of our daily
reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S.
print edition of The Wall Street Journal (March 20, 2019).
Fox Corp., which began trading as a stand-alone company Tuesday
following a spinoff from 21st Century Fox, named Paul Ryan, the
former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, to its
board.
The new Fox, which holds TV assets including Fox News, the Fox
broadcast network and television stations, and Fox Sports, also
appointed Anne Dias, Roland Hernandez and Chase Carey to its
board.
Mr. Hernandez, chief executive of Hernandez Media Ventures,
served as chief executive of Telemundo Group Inc. from 1995 to
2000. Ms. Dias founded media-focused investment fund Aragon Global
Holdings. Mr. Carey, the chairman and CEO of Formula 1, held
various top posts at 21st Century Fox, including vice chairman
until this year.
The board also includes Jacques Nasser, who previously served as
chairman of mining company BHP Billiton Limited, Rupert Murdoch,
the company's co-chairman, and his son Lachlan Murdoch, the
company's chairman and chief executive.
Mr. Ryan, the Republican Party nominee for vice president in
2012, left his role as House speaker this year.
Walt Disney Co. is acquiring the remaining 21st Century Fox
entertainment assets for $71.3 billion, a deal expected to close
Wednesday. Disney is purchasing production businesses such as the
Twentieth Century Fox studio, U.S. cable networks including FX and
National Geographic and international properties including Star
India. It also will acquire Fox's stake in streaming-video service
Hulu.
The acquisition of 21st Century Fox's assets and content
libraries will help Disney compete with streaming giants like
Netflix Inc. and emerging competitors such as Warner Media and
Apple Inc. Disney is launching a streaming service, Disney+, this
year, part of the company's broader strategy to offer films,
scripted television shows and live sports directly to
consumers.
With its major entertainment and international assets sold, Fox
Corp. is planning to focus on sports and news specifically for the
U.S. market. Rupert Murdoch and his family are significant
shareholders in Fox Corp. and Wall Street Journal parent News
Corp.
James Murdoch, Lachlan's younger brother, is not expected to
have a role at the company and is starting an investment fund
targeting digital and international media businesses, people
familiar with the matter have said.
The assets that now make up Fox Corp. generated $10.2 billion in
revenue in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2018, up 2% from the
previous year, according to a securities filing by the company. Net
income for the Fox Corp. business in fiscal 2018 was up 59% to $2.2
billion, powered by a tax benefit. Without that gain, income fell
3%.
Affiliate fees, such as carriage payments from cable TV
providers, have been a major revenue driver, and they grew 15% in
fiscal 2018. In a separate filing, Fox said it expects the pace of
affiliate fee growth to "meaningfully decelerate" in the last half
of the fiscal year that ends June 30.
Some executives from 21st Century Fox are joining Disney,
including 21st Century Fox President Peter Rice and top television
executives Dana Walden and John Landgraf. On the film side, Emma
Watts, the vice chairman of the Twentieth Century Fox studio, has
been named vice chairman of the Twentieth Century Fox film label.
Nancy Utley and Stephen Gilula, the heads of Fox Searchlight
Pictures, will continue in those roles.
Write to Allison Prang at allison.prang@wsj.com and Benjamin
Mullin at Benjamin.Mullin@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 20, 2019 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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