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Birth of William Fox
William Fox born Fried Vilmos (in English, Vilmos Fried) (January 1, 1879 - May 8, 1952)[1][2] was a pioneering Hungarian American motion picture executive[3] who founded the Fox Film Corporation in 1915 and the Fox West Coast Theatres chain in the 1920s. Although, in 1936, Fox sold his interest in these companies to settle bankruptcy, his name lives on in the names of various media ventures, most notably the Fox Broadcasting Company and 20th Century Fox film studio. -
Fox Film Corporation is formed
The Fox Film Corporation was formed in 1915 by the theater chain pioneer William Fox, who formed Fox Film Corporation by merging two companies he had established in 1913: Greater New York Film Rental, a distribution firm, which was part of the Independents; and Fox (or Box, depending on the source) Office Attractions Company, a production company. This merging of a distribution company and a production company was an early example of vertical integration. Only a year before, the latter company h -
Fox Film Corporation moves to Beverly Hills
The growing company needed space, and in 1926 Fox acquired 300 acres (1.2 km2) in the open country west of Beverly Hills and built "Movietone City", the best-equipped studio of its time. -
Fox Film Corporation and Twentieth Century Fox Merge
http://www.cobbles.com/simpp_archive/zanuck-schenck.htmJoe Schenck and Fox management agreed to a merger; Spyros Skouras, then manager of the Fox-West Coast theaters, helped in the merger (and later became president of the new company). Although it was still much smaller than Fox, Twentieth Century was the senior partner in the merger. At first, it was expected that the new company would be called "Fox-Twentieth Century". However, 20th Century brought more to the bargaining table besides Schenck and Zanuck, as it was profitable and had more talent t -
20th Century Fox announces their TV Network
In October 1985, 20th Century Fox announced its intentions to form an independent television system, a fourth television network which would compete with the three major U.S. television networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC). The plans were to use the combination of the Fox studios and the former Metromedia stations to both produce and distribute programming. Organizational plans for the network were held off until the Metromedia acquisitions cleared regulatory hurdles. Then, in December 1985, Rupert Murd -
Fox First program debuts
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MckrtLdSIxsThe network's first program was a late-night talk show, The Late Show, which debuted on October 9, 1986 with Joan Rivers as host. After a strong start, the show quickly eroded in the ratings and by early 1987 Rivers had quit and the show was being hosted by a succession of guest hosts. After that point, some stations which affiliated with the network in the weeks before the April 1987 primetime launch, such as Milwaukee's WCGV-TV, signed affiliation agreements on the condition that they would no -
Founding of FOX
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Fox_(producer)The Fox Entertainment Group was formed in the 1990s after the purchase of the Metromedia-owned independent stations by the 20th Century Fox film studio, at the time jointly owned by Australian media mogul Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, and Denver billionaire Marvin Davis. These stations would later become the foundation of the Fox television network, which launched in October 1986, and the group itself. Not long after the Metromedia deal was made, Murdoch purchased Davis's shares and News Co -
Fox debuts in Primetime
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAKaJE4gjYgThe network debuted in prime time on April 5, 1987, with the series Married... with Children and The Tracey Ullman Show. It added one new show per week over the next several weeks, with the series 21 Jump Street, Mr. President and Duet completing its Sunday schedule.[8] Beginning on July 11, the network rolled out its inaugural Saturday night schedule with a two-hour movie premiere of Werewolf, and over the next three weeks the series The New Adventures of Beans Baxter, Karen's Song and Down and -
Fox rapidly grows
Although Fox was growing rapidly as a network and had established itself as a presence, it was still not considered a major competitor to the big three broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC). Until the early 1990s, most Fox stations were still essentially independents. The network did not have significant market share until the mid-1990s, when News Corp. bought more station groups. The first was New World Communications, which had signed an affiliation deal with Fox in 1994. Later, in 2001, Fox -
Fox signs the NFL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n59V7kVNoOg This all changed when Fox lured the National Football League away from CBS in 1993. They signed a huge contract to broadcast the NFC, which included luring Pat Summerall, John Madden, Dick Stockton, Matt Millen, James Brown, and Terry Bradshaw (as well as many behind-the-scenes production personnel) from CBS Sports as well. The NFC deal, in fact, was the impetus for the affiliation deal with New -
Fox expands to comedy
The sketch-comedy series In Living Color created many memorable characters (and launched the careers of future movie stars Jim Carrey, Jamie Foxx, Damon Wayans, Keenen Ivory Wayans, and "Fly Girl" dancer Jennifer Lopez).
MADtv, another sketch-comedy series that debuted in 1995, became a solid competitor to NBC's Saturday Night Live for over a decade and the most successful show on Saturday nights. Madtv ended in 2009. -
Fox hits it big
It was estimated in 2003 that Fox was viewable by 96.18% of all U.S. households, reaching a total of 102,565,710 houses in the United States.[13] Fox has 180 VHF and UHF owned-and-operated or affiliate stations in the United States and U.S. possessions. -
2000s are Fox network's time
Fox hit a milestone in February 2005 by scoring its first-ever sweeps victory among all viewers. This was largely due to the broadcast of Super Bowl http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phybsPTrjJI, but also on the strength of American Idol, 24, House, and The O.C. By the end of the 2004–05 television season, Fox ranked No. 1 for the first time in its history among the 18–49 demographic most appealing to advertisers. Another milestone came on May 21, 2008, Fox took the No.1 general households rating crown for the first time, based on the -
Fringe/Glee launch Fox reality shows into fame
In 2008, Fringe debuted to high ratings and critical acclaim during its first season on Tuesdays; though its viewership declined through its run, the series has developed a large loyal fanbase/cult following that had turned the show into a cult television show. In 2009, Fox launched Glee to average ratings but positive reception from critics. Ratings picked up during the first season, and the show has been met with such media attention that it has formed a large loyal fanbase. The cast of the se -
Fox goes HD
Analog broadcasting on Fox largely ended on June 12, 2009 as part of the transition to digital television.
