News Corp. shakes up management at Fox TV operations
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News Corp. President Chase Carey this morning announced a restructuring of the Fox television networks that elevates two executives and puts them in charge of the company’s entertainment and sports channels.
The odd executive out in the shuffle is Rich Battista, president of Fox National Cable Networks, who oversaw several of the managers running the cable channels. Carey said the company was trying to find a new role for Battista.
News of shake-up leaked out Monday, shortly after Fox executives met with TV critics in Pasadena.
Peter Rice, chairman of entertainment for the Fox broadcast network and a favorite of News Corp. boss Rupert Murdoch, is being handed additional responsibilities for the FX cable channel and Fox Movie Channel. FX’s general manager, John Landgraf, who reported to Battista, will now report to Rice.
Longtime News Corp. hand David Hill will now run all of Fox’s sports operations, including Fox Sports, the company’s 19 regional sports networks, the Fox Soccer Channel, Speed, Fox Sports en Espanol and Fuel TV.
Hill picks up six new subordinates in the restructuring: Randy Freer, president of the Fox Sports Networks; David Nathanson, general manager of Fox Soccer Channel; Hunter Nickell, president of Speed; Dermot McQuarrie and Raul De Quesada, who are co-assistant general managers of Fox Sports en Espanol; and C.J. Olivares, general manager of Fuel TV.
All of those executives, with the exception of Freer, reported to Battista. Freer reported to Tony Vinciquerra, chief executive of the Fox Networks Group.
Hill and Rice continue to report to Vinciquerra.
-- Meg James
