Fox Broadcasting Company

The Fox Broadcasting Company (commonly referred to as Fox; stylized as FOX) is an American commercial broadcast television network that is owned by the Fox Entertainment Group subsidiary of 21st Century Fox. The network is headquartered at the 20th Century Fox studio lot on Pico Boulevard in the Century City section of Los Angeles, with additional major offices and production facilities at the Fox Television Center in nearby West Los Angeles and in Manhattan. It is the third largest major television network in the world based on total revenues, assets, and international coverage.

Launched on October 9, 1986 as a competitor to the Big Three television networks, ABC, NBC and CBS, Fox went on to become the most successful attempt at a fourth television network. It was the highest-rated broadcast network in the 18–49 demographic from 2004 to 2012, and earned the position as the most-watched American television network in total viewership during the 2007–08 season.

Fox and its affiliated companies operate many entertainment channels in international markets, although 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's National Football League telecasts and most of its prime time programming are subject to simultaneous substitution regulations for cable and satellite providers imposed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to protect rights held by domestically based networks.

Broadcasting

Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and/or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began with AM radio broadcasting which came into popular use starting with the invention of the crystal detector in 1906. Before this, all forms of electronic communication, radio, telephone, and telegraph, were "one-to-one", with the message intended for a single recipient. The term "broadcasting", borrowed from the agricultural method of sowing seeds in a field by casting them broadly about, was coined by either KDKA manager Frank Conrad or RCA historian George Clark around 1920 to distinguish this new activity of "one-to-many" communication; a single radio station transmitting to multiple listeners.

Over the air Broadcasting is usually associated with radio and television, though in practice radio and television transmissions take place using both wires and radio waves. The receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively small subset; the point is that anyone with the appropriate receiving technology can receive the signal. The field of broadcasting includes a wide range of practices, from relatively private exchanges such as public radio, community radio and commercial radio, public television, and commercial television.

21st century

The 21st century is the current century of the Anno Domini era or the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. It began on January 1, 2001, and will end on December 31, 2100. It is the first century of the 3rd millennium. It is distinct from the century known as the 2000s, which began on January 1, 2000 and will end on December 31, 2099.

Transitions and changes

The first years of the 21st century have thus far been marked by the rise of a global economy and Third World consumerism, mistrust in government, deepening global concern over terrorism and an increase in the power of private enterprise. The longterm effects of increased globalization are not known, but there are many who are concerned about its implications. The Arab Spring of the early 2010s led to mixed outcomes in the Arab world. The Digital Revolution which began around the 1980s also continues into the present. The Millennials (born c. 1981-2000) having been born before the turn of the century give way to the rise of Generation Y & Generation Z in Western countries.

21st Century Fox

Twenty-First Century Fox (stylized as 21st Century Fox) is an American multinational mass media corporation. It was one of two companies formed from the 2013 spin-out of the publishing assets of News Corporation, as founded by Rupert Murdoch in 1979; 21st Century Fox is the legal successor to News Corporation, and primarily deals in the film and television industries. The other company, the "new" News Corporation, holds Murdoch's print interests.

Its assets include the Fox Entertainment Group—owners of the 20th Century Fox film studio and Fox television network among other assets, pan-Asian pay channel operator STAR TV, and a stake in European pay TV company Sky plc.

History

Formation

21st Century Fox was formed by the splitting of entertainment and media properties from News Corporation. News Corporation's board approved the split on May 24, 2013, while shareholders approved the split on June 11, 2013; the company completed the split on June 28 and formally started trading on the NASDAQ on July 1. Plans for the split were originally announced on June 28, 2012, while additional details, and the working name of the new company were unveiled on December 3, 2012.