New York, NY, November 20, 2008 –
Roger Ailes, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, FOX News and Chairman of
FOX Television Stations, has signed a new five year contract with News
Corporation, it was announced today by Rupert Murdoch, Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer. Mr. Ailes has been with News Corporation since 1996, the
year he launched FOX News Channel (FNC).
In making the announcement, Mr. Murdoch said, “Roger has done a remarkable
job building FOX News into a force in journalism and built a great asset for
News Corporation. I have complete confidence in his talent and his editorial
judgment. Under his leadership, I believe that FOX Business Network will
become the strongest competitor in financial television news.”
The new agreement states that Mr. Ailes will continue to oversee FOX News,
FOX Television Stations (FTS), FOX Business Network (FBN), MyNetwork TV and
Twentieth Television. He will also continue serving as a senior advisor to
Mr. Murdoch on television and news matters.
Mr. Ailes added, “I’m pleased to continue to work for News Corporation. It
is a strong and extremely well positioned company. I look forward to
carrying out Mr. Murdoch’s legendary vision in the future.”
During Mr. Ailes’ tenure with News Corporation, FNC passed CNN in ratings in
all day parts in 2002 to become the number one news network in the country,
nearing full distribution with more than 90 million subscribers. In 2007, he
launched FBN which currently reaches more than 40 million homes and served
as the biggest launch in cable history. Throughout Mr. Ailes’ tenure, FOX
Television Stations has increased its market share each of the last three
years with all time record shares in the last two years. In addition, FTS
has expanded its local news presence by nearly 100 hours a week in a
challenging economic climate.
News Corporation (NYSE: NWS, NWS.A; ASX: NWS, NWSLV) had total assets as of
September 30, 2008 of approximately US$61 billion and total annual revenues
of approximately US$33 billion. News Corporation is a diversified global
media company with operations in eight industry segments: filmed
entertainment; television; cable network programming; direct broadcast
satellite television; magazines and inserts; newspapers and information
services; book publishing; and other. The activities of News Corporation are
conducted principally in the United States, Continental Europe, the United
Kingdom, Australia, Asia and the Pacific Basin.
Contact:
Brian Lewis 212-301-3331
Irena Briganti 212-301-3608
Teri Everett 212-852-7070