CANNES – This year's MiPcom show hosted a newly formed team of prominent Fox Corp. animators with a checkbook in hand.
The three executives who gave key speeches at the International Content Conference on Monday evening told the crowd that they would make new friends and make several deals around the world. The company is fighting the media trend towards direct subscription platforms for consumers. Fox invests its resources in content and intellectual property that can be traveled around the world and adapted in many different ways.
"While others are trying to hide their content behind paywalls, we are doing the opposite," said Rob Wade, who was named CEO of Fox Entertainment this month. a laugh on stage). "We see the opportunity to collaborate with (external) networks, producers and distributors to be able to further distribute our content."
Wade was joined in the discussion by Fernando So, CEO of Fox Entertainment's fledgling global division, and Michael Thorne, president of Fox Entertainment's Scripted Content and Animation. The trio marked the company's goal, which was created in 2019 following the sale of 21st Century Fox to Disney.
When asked what he had on his wish list this week on the Cote d'Azur, Wade replied: "Smart and profitable manufacturing contracts." To reinforce his point, he remarked at the start of the half-hour session: "We have our checkbook with us."
Shew joined the Fox Corporation late last year. He joined when the company acquired Los Angeles-based production company MarVista Entertainment. The executive trio stressed that Fox is looking for resources and projects that can generate diversified entertainment revenue for the Fox broadcast network, ad-supported Tubi streamers, and local Fox TV stations. Recent acquisitions such as Gordon Ramsay TMZ's TV and digital operations and Studio Ramsay are designed to expand these brands.
"We are looking for like-minded people in the field of creativity and distribution," says So. "We are looking for international formats and partnerships."
Thorne pointed out that the advantage of Fox's new model is a wider presence in the television ecosystem, with programs like 9-1-1 and Lone Star: 9-1-1 continuing to garner over 10 million views. people every week, but also the opportunity to work as a boutique when new collections are launched.
"If you think of some of the other platforms we're competing with in streaming that release 15 episodes a month, we're doing a lot less than a year," Thorne said. “So each of our programs is the fruit of a favorite idea, and not one of many. We believe that the care and attention in the company are 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 position at Roku, said the most efficient media organization in the past three years has been one of the advantages of the renovation. . Background, contract models and internal studio commitments that complicate TV contracts were avoided. He cited the example of Fox's production division, which now uses its resources to produce documentaries for Tubby and Fox Sports.
Thorne has a similar desire to carry on what can be a slow development process in animation and script. “We started buying many of the components ourselves that we could own and manufacture internationally,” says Thorn.
All in all, the session with the Fox trio showed how much the moment has changed for the media brand, which pioneered the concept of vertical integration between network platforms and studio production in the 1980s. The new Fox model in the 21st century ecosystem is more like a free agent.
Mantra: Find the best ideas. Implement them at the best cost, using the best manufacturers and the best business models, "says Wade." Our goal is that everyone wins. "
(Photos: Fox's Fernando Sioux, Rob Wade and Michael Thorne and Variety's Cynthia Littleton )
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