Fox
Latest
Fox News impartiality breaches could threaten Sky merger
As Fox waits to find out whether it will be allowed to complete its merger with broadcasting giant Sky, UK media regulator Ofcom today delivered a fresh blow to proceedings. The watchdog confirmed that two Fox News shows, hosted separately by Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson, breached a number of broadcasting regulations, before the channel was removed from British TV screens in August.
Disney, Fox, Warner and Universal may team up on downloadable movies
After nearly a decade of battling between movie lockers, Disney may finally have support from other studios. According to a report from Bloomberg, "several major Hollywood film studios" are signed up to participate in a new film service with Disney, including Fox, Warner and Universal. Since 2010, most of the industry has relied on Ultraviolet to enable cross-store digital movie ownership, with the exception of Disney, which launched its own Movies Anywhere service in 2014. Most of us got our first taste of the systems that link purchases across stores like iTunes, or Amazon via digital copy codes included with DVDs and Blu-rays. The studios hope that by finally banding together, they can convince customers to buy more movies instead of relying on subscription services or other avenues to get their flicks. There's no word about what might happen to studio support for Ultraviolet, or stores that support it like Walmart's Vudu, but Disney Movies Anywhere currently links to iTunes, Amazon, Vudu, Google Play, FiOS and not Microsoft. The other major studios, Lionsgate and Paramount, are reportedly "supportive" but aren't joining yet.
Fox 's new TV show 'Ghosted' will premiere on Twitter
Twitter is no stranger to TV tie-ins, but it's kicking things up a notch this week. It's partnering with Fox on a slew of streaming efforts to boost Fox's fall show lineup, including premiering a show on Twitter. You can watch the first episode of the paranormal comedy Ghosted at 9PM Eastern between September 21st and 24th, days before its October 1st debut on TV -- a "first" for Twitter, Fox says. Yes, this is ultimately an attempt to drum up buzz from fans and score strong early TV ratings, but it suggests that social video is becoming an important part of the networks' strategy.
Fox's takeover of Sky referred to the UK's competition regulator
It's now been a full year since 21st Century Fox first confirmed its interest in buying out Sky. In that time, the deal has been referred to and cleared by the European Commission, scrutinised by communications regulator Ofcom and discussed numerous times in parliament without a firm approval or denial. The decision has now been pushed back even further after Culture Secretary Karen Bradley announced today that the merger will be passed to the the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) as part of a formal six-month review.
Apple and Amazon reportedly pursuing James Bond film rights
Sony's distribution rights to the James Bond films expired with 2015's Spectre and MGM has been looking for a new distributor ever since. As of now, Warner Bros. is expected to land the rights, but two new rather surprising players have jumped into the game -- Amazon and Apple. Sony has also pursued a deal with MGM, as have Universal and Fox, but sources tell the Hollywood Reporter that the tech companies are willing to throw down as much as or more money than Warner Bros. to land the rights.
Stream 'Glee,' 'NYPD Blue' and older Fox shows on Hulu
Hulu's close connection to Fox just got a little closer. The streaming service has unveiled a deal with Fox that adds every episode of dozens of well-known (if also well-worn) shows, including some that aren't necessarily obvious picks. Relatively recent hits like Glee and How I Met Your Mother are available alongside shows that have been off the air for a while, such as NYPD Blue, M*A*S*H and The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Thankfully, there are a few outliers -- you can watch both seasons of Joss Whedon's Dollhouse, for instance.
Fox hopes you'll binge-watch at theaters like you do on Netflix
Let's say you run a movie studio and notice that people would rather stay home and plow through the latest Marvel series on Netflix than pay through the nose for a trip to the theater. What do you do? If you're Fox, the answer seems simple: offer a taste of that marathon viewing experience at the theater. Hollywood Reporter understands that Fox wants to release three film adaptations of RL Stine's Fear Street books within three months -- a given movie would still be fresh in your mind when its sequel is hitting theaters. You'd be "bingeing movies" (as one tipster puts it) just about as quickly as the big screen format allows.
Fox broadcasts Formula E's historic NYC races starting July 15th
Formula E is about to make history by bringing racing back to New York City, and you'll have plenty of chances to tune in... though it's not always live. Fox Sports (the league's official broadcaster) has detailed a coverage schedule for the two Brooklyn races on the weekend, including the pre-race build-up. Everything starts on July 15th at 6:30PM, when FS2 and SDD will rebroadcast the round 9 race's qualifying results. You'll see the race itself an hour later, at 7:30PM. Round 10 qualifying will air 11AM on July 16th. The real fireworks start at 12:30PM on the 16th -- that's when the pre-race (and half an hour later, the race itself) broadcasts live on TV. Both races will livestream online through Fox Sports Go, though you'll need a TV subscription to take advantage of internet viewing.
AT&T's DirecTV Now expands its local channel lineup
As pay TV subscriber growth declines, regional content affiliates are looking for more ways to bring in customers (and their money) via digital platforms like Sling TV, Hulu, PlayStation Vue, and DirecTV Now. One way to stem the tide of vanishing local cord-cutters is to offer more local programming, which could entice customers to bundled internet TV packages. AT&T's Direct TV now service just announced that it has more than doubled its own live local channel line up, adding local NBC, ABC and FOX affiliates around the US. The company claims that the expansion gives DirecTV Now local coverage for almost 70 percent of US households.
The 'Futurama' crew returns today in a new mobile game
Good news, everyone: after no small amount of hype, you can revisit the Futurama universe on your phone. Jam City's TinyCo has released Futurama: Worlds of Tomorrow for free on both Android and iOS. It's clearly another not-so-subtle attempt to cash in on a much-loved TV series, but this title promises to do more than trade on a familiar name. It has a relatively rich story created by Matt Groening, David X. Cohen and a writing team from the show, and the original show cast is on tap for dialogue. However, the most intriguing part may be its extremely varied gameplay -- it's more ambitious than many console or PC titles in some ways, even if it's not necessarily as deep.
Champions League matches are coming to Facebook
Facebook can add another feather to its live-sports streaming cap: UEFA Champions League soccer (football to the rest of the world) matches. Reuters reports that thanks to a partnership with Fox Sports, the 2017-18 season will be watchable on Zuckerberg's social network. Champions League went from being one of the most-watched competition on earth to the exact opposite thanks to several countries blocking access via paywalls. Jerks. Anyhow, if you can't access the League via YouTube in your area, this should fix that.
Fox Sports is airing the Champions League final in VR
Samsung just announced that it's adding UFC fights and other events to its new immersive programming lineup. It's the latest company to start broadcasting sports events in VR, but it's far from the first. Fox Sports has been uploading virtual reality coverage of big-name events for years, most recently livestreaming this year's Super Bowl. But the network is airing in VR a match that folks outside the US might consider just as massive: This Saturday's UEFA Champions League final between Real Madrid and Juventus.
Get ready for a wave of TV mergers and buyouts
20th Century Fox is reportedly looking to buy Tribune Media, potentially sparking a wave of consolidation in the TV business. The news comes via Bloomberg, which believes that the media giant has entered into secret talks to buy the broadcaster. Tribune Media is a potentially prize asset, owning 39 stations in 31 markets, including affiliates for all of the big five TV networks.
'Orange is the New Black' hackers may have stolen 36 other shows
When the hackers who swiped Netflix's unreleased Orange is the New Black season warned that they had shows from other TV networks, they might not have been kidding around. TheDarkOverlord has reportedly provided DataBreaches.net with a "preview" of the shows it obtained from Larson Studios, and it looks like there could be 36 more titles in the mix -- many of which you've likely heard about. The mix includes recent and yet-to-air episodes of Fox's New Girl, FX's It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, IFC's Portlandia and CBS' NCIS: Los Angeles, among others. There are also singular titles like the Vin Diesel movie XXX: Return of Xander Cage as well as Netflix's Bill Nye Saves the World and a YouTube Red original.
'Avatar' sequels start arriving on December 18th, 2020
James Cameron has spent years drumming up hype for his Avatar sequels with little to show for it (the first sequel was originally due this December). However, his team is finally ready to commit to specific release dates -- for all the new movies. The production team has revealed that Avatar 2 should arrive on December 18th, 2020, with the rest staggered throughout the next few years. The third movie is slated for December 17th, 2021. There will be a 3-year gap between that and the fourth movie, which debuts on December 20th, 2024. The fifth and final (?) title will appear on December 19th, 2025, 16 years after the first.
'The X-Files' is coming back, again
It would be hard not to draw a line between the world's current obsession with daft conspiracy theories and the first broadcast of The X-Files. More than 20 years after the era-defining series began, Fox has announced that it's producing another 10 episode run of the show. The eleventh season of The X-Files will air on the channel as an "event" towards the end of this year or the start of the next.
Hollywood again considers $30 early movie rentals
Slowly, movie studios are putting the pieces in place for reducing the time between a film's theatrical run and when you can watch it at home. The latest step toward this is news that Warner Bros. would be cool with people watching its movies as soon as 17 days after theatrical debut, according to Variety. That privilege would come with a $50 price tag -- the same price Napster founder Sean Parker proposed over a year ago for his Screening Room service.
Fox's impulse-buy Movie of the Day app comes to Apple TV
Fox is always open to new ideas on how to goose digital movie sales, and one of its recent developments has been the "Movie of the Day" app on iOS. Starting tomorrow, it will also be available on Apple TV, which should provide a fitting home for its rotating selection of content. Via the app, prices are usually deeply discounted from their usual purchase prices, to somewhere between $5 - $10 per movie. To go with the new launch, Fox has revealed the lineup over the next few days, which will include Kingsman: Secret Service, Deadpool and a few others.
Fox crime drama sees police turning to the public for real-time alerts
What happens when an eccentric billionaire buys an entire district of the police force and equips it with a gamut of high-tech tools to fight crime? Fox's latest crime drama, APB, is a timely take on the challenges of privatizing the police force and the implications of fighting crime with invasive technologies.
Fox Sports will broadcast Super Bowl 51 in a 'VR suite'
Sure watching boxing, basketball and tennis in VR are cool, but what about the biggest TV event of the year? Come Sunday, Fox Sports will fix that gap in its lineup by teaming with LiveLike to beam the Super Bowl into your Gear VR or Cardboard headset via the network's app. Or, you can ditch the headsets and use the 360-degree video with your mobile device.
