New York – 21st Century Fox announced on July 14 that Dana Walden and Gary Newman will oversee a new business unit within Fox Networks Group, Fox Television Group, which will combine Fox Broadcasting Company (FBC) and 20th Century Fox Television (TCFTV). The announcement was made by Peter Rice, Chairman of Fox Networks Group, to whom both Newman and Walden will now report. Their respective appointments are effective later in July.
In their new roles as Chairmen and CEOs of Fox Television Group, Newman and Walden will be responsible for all facets of the FOX broadcast network, including programming, digital, marketing and other functions. The new roles also call for the duo to continue oversight of 20th Century Fox Television, which they have led for the past 15 years. 20th Century Fox Television is comprised of the parent studio, cable production arms Fox 21 and Fox Television Studios, the licensing division Fox Consumer Products and the syndication division Twentieth Television. While both companies will be housed within Fox Television Group, FBC and TCFTV will continue to operate as independent entities, but will share financial and creative goals, and be led jointly by Walden and Newman.
Fox Television Group will operate as a division of Fox Networks Group, which also oversees 21st Century Fox’s domestic entertainment, sports and non-fiction channels, as well as Fox International Channels’ collection of more than 300 channels worldwide.
“As we look to the future of the broadcast television business, it is clear that the best path forward is to operate our creative and broadcast divisions under the leadership of a single team, and that Gary and Dana are the perfect executives to take on this new role,” said Chase Carey, President and COO of 21st Century Fox. “While TCFTV and FBC will each continue as an open supplier and an open network, respectively, the closer alignment of these two properties, coupled with a unified vision from Dana and Gary, gives us a clear advantage in creating even more hit content that will benefit both businesses. We are incredibly fortunate to have two such accomplished leaders already under our roof to take on these important new roles.”
“Over the past 15 years, Dana and Gary have raised the bar for the rest of the industry with respect to creative vision, close-knit relationships with top talent and an unmatched track record of hit programming,” said Rice. “At a time when the demand for content has never been higher, there is no doubt that we strengthen and galvanise our television business – both from a creative and programming standpoint – with Gary and Dana taking on these vital new leadership roles.”
Named Presidents of 20th Century Fox Television in December 1999, and later elevated to Chairmen and then Chairmen and CEOs, Newman and Walden have built the studio into an undisputed industry leader. They delivered six of the most celebrated hits of the past five seasons in Modern Family, Homeland, American Horror Story, Glee, New Girl and most recently, Sleepy Hollow, Fox’s #1 new series. The studio’s long-running Bones, Family Guy and The Simpsons continue to deliver huge audiences, and its two cable production arms, Fox 21 and Fox Television Studios, are thriving, producing some of cable’s most popular and distinctive series including FX co-productions Sons of Anarchy, Tyrant and The Americans. The studio’s roster includes forty series on more than a dozen broadcast, cable and digital platforms, regularly leads its competitors in award nominations and reaches more than one billion people every week across the globe in as many as 180 countries, across six continents, in 30 different languages.
“We are grateful to Peter, Chase and James for this extraordinary vote of confidence,” commented Walden and Newman. “The time is right to unite these divisions. Television has never been more creatively vibrant and the business has never been more dynamic. Our goal is to make FBC the number one destination for creators with big visions and bold ideas, because our guiding principle has always been ‘talent first’. We are humbled by the challenges and exhilarated by the opportunities ahead. It’s an exciting time.”
