Ready for Fox Sports 1?

News Corp. recently announced that it will be launching a new major sports channel - Fox Sports 1 - on August 17.  The company looks to leverage its combination of 22 regional sports channels, and niche sports channels (like Speed), into a major national brand.  To do so, it is planning to start with a foundation of 4800 hours of programming, and anticipates being available to 90 million homes.  That will put it in a competitive position with ESPN, although they downplayed that goal.

“We are not trying to beat ESPN,” (News Corp. COO) Carey said. “Sports is a big, huge arena. We’ve proven we can do some interesting and exciting things. We can enlarge the category and bring a new dimension to it. The key to success for us is to build an attractive business that resonates with consumers."

Source - News Corp. To Launch Fox Sports 1, MediaDailyNews

NewsCorp. Splits, Drops The Daily

Murdoch's News Corporation announced that it will be separating print and audio-visual (film and video) operations.

  Current newspaper and publishing operations will retain the News Corp. name under the leadership of current Dow Jones editor in chief Robert Thomson.
  Current TV and film businesses will be shifted to a new corporate entity to be called "The Fox Group."  The Fox Group will be led by Rupert Murdoch as CEO, and Chase Carey as President and COO.
  As part of the move, the grand experiment (or bastard stepchild) that was The Daily - an only news outlet available on Apple's iPad, will be shut down.

“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.”

Murdoch's note to staff stressed his vision of making the world a better place through storytelling as being at the heart of his vision for NewsCorp., but coming to the realization that the kinds of storytelling used by traditional print news (and other print outlets) was different from the kinds of storytelling undertaken by entertainment media.  As such, separating the two would help each to pursue their own path to excellence.

It could work out.  What it's sure to do, though, is rekindle arguments about Fox News Channel (is it news, or is it entertainment?)

Source -  News Corp. Splits Into Two: Fox News Now Part of 'Fox Group',  TV Newser