In what is truly an end of an era for the television industry, Rupert Murdoch has announced that he is stepping down from his role as chairman of the boards of Fox Corporation and News Corporation.
Effective from mid-November 2023, Murdoch will become chairman emeritus of each company while son Lachlan Murdoch will become sole chair of News Corp and continue as executive chair and chief executive officer of Fox Corporation.
After inheriting his father’s interests in the Adelaide newspaper The News in 1952, Murdoch took control of News Limited in 1954 beginning his ascent to the top of the media industry. His company founded the Southern Television Corporation and pushed its newly licensed Channel 9 to be first to air in 1959 in South Australia.
News Corporation was established in 1980, as a holding company to consolidate international operations of a growing roster of newspapers, magazines and television assets. In 1983 Murdoch’s News International became the majority owner of Satellite Television, the first satellite-to-cable channel in Europe. In 1985, Murdoch significantly expanded his interests in TV when he took ownership of Twentieth Century Fox as well as a number of regional television stations in some of the leading US markets. The following year, the FOX Television Stations group was created, comprising 25 stations across the US. that became the foundation for the launch of FOX Broadcasting Company in 1986.
Murdoch launched Sky Television in the UK in 1988 and expanded the offering with the launch of Sky News in 1989, as the first 24-hour news television channel in Britain. In 1992, in a move that totally transformed British football, Sky acquired the rights to the newly established Premier League.
Fox Corporation currently produces and distributes content through brands, including FOX News Media, FOX Sports, FOX Entertainment, FOX Television Stations and Tubi Media Group.
Commenting on stepping into his father’s rather large footsteps, Lachlan Murdoch said: “On behalf of the FOX and News Corp boards of directors, leadership teams, and all the shareholders who have benefited from his hard work, I congratulate my father on his remarkable 70-year career. We thank him for his vision, his pioneering spirit, his steadfast determination, and the enduring legacy he leaves to the companies he founded and countless people he has impacted.”
After inheriting his father’s interests in the Adelaide newspaper The News in 1952, Murdoch took control of News Limited in 1954 beginning his ascent to the top of the media industry. His company founded the Southern Television Corporation and pushed its newly licensed Channel 9 to be first to air in 1959 in South Australia.
News Corporation was established in 1980, as a holding company to consolidate international operations of a growing roster of newspapers, magazines and television assets. In 1983 Murdoch’s News International became the majority owner of Satellite Television, the first satellite-to-cable channel in Europe. In 1985, Murdoch significantly expanded his interests in TV when he took ownership of Twentieth Century Fox as well as a number of regional television stations in some of the leading US markets. The following year, the FOX Television Stations group was created, comprising 25 stations across the US. that became the foundation for the launch of FOX Broadcasting Company in 1986.
Murdoch launched Sky Television in the UK in 1988 and expanded the offering with the launch of Sky News in 1989, as the first 24-hour news television channel in Britain. In 1992, in a move that totally transformed British football, Sky acquired the rights to the newly established Premier League.
Fox Corporation currently produces and distributes content through brands, including FOX News Media, FOX Sports, FOX Entertainment, FOX Television Stations and Tubi Media Group.
Commenting on stepping into his father’s rather large footsteps, Lachlan Murdoch said: “On behalf of the FOX and News Corp boards of directors, leadership teams, and all the shareholders who have benefited from his hard work, I congratulate my father on his remarkable 70-year career. We thank him for his vision, his pioneering spirit, his steadfast determination, and the enduring legacy he leaves to the companies he founded and countless people he has impacted.”
