CANNES – Fox Corp.’s newly formed senior entertainment team came to Mipcom with a checkbook this year.
The three executives who gave keynotes at an international content conference Monday night candidly said they’re here to make new friends and do business around the world. The company bucks the media trend toward direct-to-consumer subscription platforms. Fox dedicates resources to content and her IP that can travel around the world and adapt in many ways.
“Others are trying to hide their content behind paywalls, but we’re doing the opposite,” said Rob Wade, who was promoted to CEO of Fox Entertainment earlier this month. I’m on my 10th day at work,” he said.) smiling on stage). “We see the potential to work with (outside) networks, producers and distributors to further spread the content.”
Wade joined Fernado Szew, CEO of the newly formed Fox Entertainment Global Division, and Michael Thorn, President of Fox’s Entertainment Division, which specializes in scripted content and animation. The trio outlined areas of focus for the company, which was formed in 2019 after 21st Century Fox was sold to Disney.
Asked what he had on his wish list for this week on the Côte d’Azur, Wade said “agile and smart production deals”. To make a point, he said early in his 30-minute session, “We have a checkbook.”
Szew joined Fox Corp.’s ranks late last year when it acquired his LA-based production banner MarVista Entertainment. The trio of executives emphasized that Fox is looking for assets and projects that can generate a variety of entertainment bills for its Fox broadcast network, the company’s Tubi ad-supported streamers, and Fox’s local TV stations.TMZ TV and Digital Operations, and recent acquisitions such as Gordon Ramsay’s Studio Ramsay were designed to expand these brands.
Mr Szew said: “We are looking for formats and international partnerships.”
Thorn emphasized that the new model Fox has the advantage of having a bigger footprint in the TV ecosystem. He’s alone a week, but he can act like a boutique when it comes to launching new series.
“Considering that none of the other platforms we are competing in for streaming are delivering about 15 series per month, our annual output is much lower,” Thorn said. . “So our show is each a favorite kid, not one of many kids him. That care and attention from the whole company that we think of is very unique.”
Wade, the former head of alternative programming at Fox, who was promoted last month after his predecessor Charlie Collier left the company for a new role at Roku, has spent the past three years rebuilding a leaner media company. One of the advantages of doing so is the ability to avoid the pitfalls of precedent, contract templates, and in-studio obligations that complicate television deals. As an example, he pointed to Fox’s production department using internal resources to produce documentaries for Tubi and Fox Sports.
The same desire to quickly start something that can slow down the development process is happening in Thorn’s animation and scripting space. “We started picking a lot of materials ourselves that we could own and build in an international way,” says Thorn.
Overall, the Fox trio session highlighted how times have changed for media brands that pioneered the concept of vertical integration between network platforms and studio production in the 1980s. New model Fox is much more free agent in the 21st century ecosystem.
“Our mantra is to find the best ideas. To make them at the most profitable cost with the best producers and the best business model,” Wade said. It’s about winning.”
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