Fox Corporation
Broadcast Television and Cable Network ProgrammingFounded 2019- Updated July 2025
Reviewed by Swet Parvadiya
Last reviewed: July 2025
CorpDigest
Fox Corporation
Company History
Founded 2019 in New York, New York
Last reviewed: 2025-07-15 · By Swet Parvadiya
Under the absolute control of Lachlan Murdoch, who assumed the dual roles of Executive Chairman and CEO, the newly independent Fox Corporation immediately began executing a ruthless strategy of capital discipline and asset consolidation. The origin of Fox Corporation is not a story of a founder starting a network in a garage; it is a story of a ruthless, mathematically precise corporate amputation that stripped away the vast majority of a global media empire to save the most profitable, cash-generative core. The origin of Fox Corporation is a story of survival through contraction, a brutal but necessary amputation that allowed the Murdoch family to preserve the most valuable, unreplicable assets of their empire and position them for dominance in the live broadcasting landscape of the 21st century.
Rupert Murdoch founded the modern iteration of Fox Corporation in 2019 following the completion of the $71.3 billion sale of 21st Century Fox’s entertainment assets to The Walt Disney Company. A legendary figure in global media, Murdoch previously built News Corporation into a sprawling empire that controlled newspapers, book publishers, and film studios across the globe. His leadership style was defined by extreme aggression, a willingness to take on massive debt to fund acquisitions, and an unparalleled instinct for identifying and monetizing the most valuable, culturally resonant media assets. In his late eighties, Murdoch recognized that the future of media belonged to global streaming platforms, and that 21st Century Fox lacked the capital to compete. His decision to sell the film studio and scripted assets was a masterstroke of capital allocation that preserved the family’s control over the most profitable, unreplicable live broadcasting assets in the United States. He served as Executive Chairman of Fox Corporation until late 2023, when he transitioned to Chairman Emeritus, handing full operational control to his son Lachlan. His legacy is a company that survived the disruption of the digital age by abandoning the scripted wars and focusing entirely on the inelastic, cash-generative power of live news and live sports.
Lachlan Murdoch assumed the role of Executive Chairman and CEO of the newly independent Fox Corporation in 2019, tasked with navigating the company through the immediate aftermath of the massive $71.3 billion sale of its entertainment assets to Disney. Born into the media dynasty, Lachlan had been groomed for leadership, previously serving as the Deputy Chief Operating Officer of 21st Century Fox. Upon taking the helm of the spun-off entity, he faced immense pressure from Wall Street and activist investors who viewed the new Fox as a declining linear television relic. Instead of panicking, Murdoch executed a ruthless strategy of capital discipline, selling off the company’s remaining regional sports networks for $9.6 billion to aggressively deleverage the balance sheet. He then redirected the company’s massive free cash flow toward securing exclusive, long-term media rights for the most valuable live sports properties in the world, including the $7 billion Big Ten deal, and acquiring the ad-supported streaming platform Tubi for $440 million. Under his leadership, Fox Corporation has maintained its dominance in the live news and sports markets, generating over $2.8 billion in annual Adjusted EBITDA and executing aggressive share repurchase programs. In late 2024, following the passing of his father Rupert, Lachlan consolidated his control over the family trust, cementing his position as the absolute ruler of the Fox media empire and ensuring the company’s continued focus on live broadcasting and digital advertising.
On March 20, 2019, The Walt Disney Company completed its $71.3 billion acquisition of the vast majority of 21st Century Fox’s entertainment assets, officially spinning off the remaining live broadcasting assets into the newly independent Fox Corporation, a lean, highly leveraged entity focused exclusively on live news and sports.
Fox Corporation aggressively moved to deleverage its balance sheet by selling its remaining regional sports networks to Sinclair Broadcast Group for $9.6 billion, eliminating the immediate threat of a liquidity crisis and redirecting capital toward national sports rights and digital acquisitions.
Fox Corporation acquired the ad-supported streaming platform Tubi for $440 million in cash, a massive strategic bet that provided the company with a direct-to-consumer digital hedge against the irreversible decline of traditional pay-television subscriptions and a high-margin AVOD revenue stream.
Fox Sports signed a transformative, $7 billion, seven-year media rights agreement with the Big Ten Conference, a deal that fundamentally altered the landscape of college sports broadcasting, cemented Fox’s dominance in the live collegiate market, and required the massive expansion of the Big Ten Network.
In April 2023, Fox Corporation finalized a $787.5 million cash settlement with Dominion Voting Systems, concluding a catastrophic defamation lawsuit that exposed the internal communications of its highest-rated primetime hosts and represented nearly 30 percent of the company’s annual free cash flow.
In September 2023, Rupert Murdoch announced his transition from Executive Chairman to Chairman Emeritus, handing full operational and editorial control of Fox Corporation and Fox News to his son Lachlan Murdoch, marking the end of an era and the beginning of a new, highly disciplined strategic phase.
Fox Corporation reported consolidated revenue of $15.63 billion for FY2024, representing a 4.1 percent increase driven by the massive surge in political advertising revenue during the 2024 election cycle and the successful integration of the Big Ten Conference media rights into the Fox Sports portfolio.
Fox Corporation acquired the ad-supported streaming platform Tubi for $440 million in cash, a massive strategic bet to establish a direct-to-consumer digital hedge against the irreversible decline of traditional pay-television subscriptions and to capture the rapidly growing AVOD market.
Fox Sports signed a transformative, $7 billion, seven-year media rights agreement with the Big Ten Conference, a massive strategic bet to cement Fox’s dominance in the live collegiate sports market and secure exclusive rights to the most valuable college football and basketball properties in the United States.
After spinning off in March 2019, Fox Corporation sold its remaining regional sports networks to Sinclair Broadcast Group for $9.6 billion. The company used the proceeds to aggressively deleverage a balance sheet that carried roughly $7 billion in retained debt, redirecting capital toward national sports rights and digital acquisitions.
In April 2023, Fox Corporation agreed to a $787.5 million cash settlement with Dominion Voting Systems to resolve a defamation lawsuit tied to its 2020 election coverage. The payment equaled nearly 30 percent of the company's annual free cash flow, yet Fox absorbed the charge and returned to aggressive capital allocation within twelve months.
Following the March 20, 2019 split, Fox halted international expansion and exited scripted entertainment to concentrate on live news and live sports, the two linear categories most resistant to cord-cutting. This contraction left roughly 28 local television stations, Fox News, and Fox Sports as the core of the newly independent company.
In 2022 Fox Sports signed a $7 billion, seven-year media rights agreement with the Big Ten Conference, cementing its dominance in live college football. The deal required a major expansion of the Big Ten Network and gave Fox premium Saturday-afternoon inventory that anchors its fall advertising sales.