By: Brittany Koester, Ken LaVicka, and Eddie Shrake

* History *

The FOX Network was founded in 1986 by media tycoon Rupert Murdoch. It was based on 7 non-network affiliated stations that Murdoch purchased in the 1980's. He also bought out theTwentieth Century Fox movie studio. This gave him the strong foundation for creating a legitimate prime time network. Former ABC programming executive Barry Diller also played a pivotal role in the initial success of FOX.The Austrailian native premiered his new network in 1985 with the sole purpose of televising quality primetime entertainment that could some day compete with the big three of ABC, NBC, and CBS.

Early shows such as "The Joan Rivers Show" were not very successful but in 1989 FOX struck gold with agroundbreaking animated series called "The Simpsons". Using the success of this show as a springboard, FOX was able to debut other controversial but popular shows such as "Married With Children", "Melrose Place", and "Beverly Hills 90210", all of which exploring topics that had never been tried before on network television.

 

Because of a devastating economic crisis in the late 80's and early 90's, FOX lost massive amounts of money, but at the same time was able to pick up several affiliates that had dropped off from the other networks. After the improvement in the economy and the continued growth of the network, FOX debuted the "X-Files" in 1993 and was one of the first shows to question government involvement in paranormal activity and extraterrestrial phenomenons. This groundbreaking show led to continued success and in the fall of 1993 FOX won the rights to televise NFC NFL football. This officially brought FOX into the realm of the big three.

 

 

FOX followed this up with the acquisition of NHL hockey and Major League Baseball. FOX continues to air popular primetime television such as "That 70's Show", and "The Bernie Mac Show", and still cashes in on old successes such as "The Simpsons" and "The X-Files". Today FOX is a major player in the network television industry and will continue to be in the years to come.

 

Throughout the pastcouple of years, FOX has explored the art of cross-promtion in order to better expand it's television viewing audience. They have had promtions through such restaurants as "Burger King" to promote "The Simpsons" and continues to advertise its 20th Century FOX movies through restaurants and high profile American corporations.

 

Because of FOX's success and transition in to a massive television corporation, many jobs are needed to help run the company. FOX employs countless producers, writers, directors, and artists in order to produce its manyshows. FOX also provides many jobs in their news department and popular sports department. Newscasters, sportscasters, writers, studio producers, and administrators all contribute to the creation and success of the network. FOX's evolution into a massive broadcasting corporation has led to hundreds of jobs being available at the network.

 

Over the past years, FOX has run into some trouble with controversial programming that have offended Americans and created much strife amongst television experts. "Married With Children" was the first significantly controversial show ever launched by the network because it contained many sexual references and "anti-family" themes. "The Jerry Springer Show" followed with its outrageous subjects and content, and the controversy created a mass following despite all of the negative press.

 

The most recent black eye for the network was the show "Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire" which aired in 2000. In this show, a millionaire, Rick Rockwell, married winner Darva Conger, but the marriage split several days later and the network was looked down upon for the emotional ire it inspired amongst TV experts.

Despite this controversy, FOX placed third amongst the four major networks in overall yearly ratings in 2001. FOX is the highest rated sports network amongst the major networks and has many new innovations in the sports industry in the wings. FOX also has a major slate of primetime programming that will be debuting in the coming season and the network feels that they will continue to grow in the next couple of years and will someday be at the top.

 

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