In 1987, the first full year that Fox was on the air, the News Corp.-owned broadcast TV channel offered around $1.3 billion to the NFL to take over “Monday Night Football” from ABC. While the NFL didn’t want to sign on with a network that hadn’t established itself yet, the precedent had been set that Fox was unafraid to make bold moves on the sports programming front.

Since then, Fox has made deals to broadcast the NFL, NHL, MLB, NASCAR, UFC, the World Cup and several NCAA divisions. It also has launched 22 regional sports networks. Now News Corp. is doubling down and has announced the U.S. launch of a new 24-hour all-sports network that will go live in August and compete against the likes of ESPN and NBC Sports’ new channel.

“We are not trying to beat ESPN,” News Corp. COO Chase Carey told investors in Florida, according to Variety. “Sports is a big, huge arena. We’ve proven we can do some interesting and exciting things. We can enlarge the category and bring a new dimension to it. The key to success for us is to build an attractive business that resonates with consumers.”Continue reading...

McDonald's debuts new packaging featuring QR codes.

Samsung reportedly developing new Galaxy Tab 3 line-up and a tablet.

Walmart toughens ethics policies for suppliers with zero tolerance policy.

AB InBev wins court bid to get back Bud EU trademark for beer.

Boeing faces intensifying probes on troubled Dreamliner.

Caterpillar woes deepen in China.

Cumulus brings country music back to New York City radio.

Daimler commits to innovation in mobility.Continue reading...

The Los Angeles Dodgers brand has seen better days. Last April, a controversy exploded over the team's ownership. Not since the legendary baseball team picked up and left its beloved Brooklyn fans in the dust had the Dodgers been so battered by bad press.

It seems then-owner Frank McCourt had run afoul of Major League Baseball (MLB), who was questioning McCourt's management of the team and its finances. In fact, McCourt had a very public dispute with his wife Jamie, whom he fired in 2009 as CEO of the Dodgers. A week later, Jamie filed for divorce. A California court told the McCourts they would have to work out their Dodger dealings outside of divorce court. The whole mess went into extra innings when it was later learned that the IRS was investigating the odd couple for money they took from the team without paying taxes.

Through it all, Frank McCourt remained a Dodger stalwart. On April 27, 2011, he proclaimed, "I took my life savings and invested it into the Los Angeles Dodgers. No one handed me the Dodgers and no one is going to take it away. I'm not going anywhere." A nice sentiment, perhaps, but it didn't stop the team from entering bankruptcy in June. The MLB promptly put a monitor in place to keep a watchful eye on the Dodgers, which McCourt claimed was tantamount to a "hostile takeover."

Well, Frank, as the umpire famously screams, "Yer OUT!" On April 27, 2012, exactly a year after his infamous "I'm not going anywhere" speech, McCourt agreed to sell the Los Angeles Dodgers for $2.15 billion to another ball player, none other than LA Lakers basketball superstar Magic Johnson, heading his own team of buyers. In addition to Magic Johnson, the Dodgers' new owners will include financial services firm Guggenheim Partners, Peter Guber, head of film company Mandalay Entertainment, and Stan Kasten, former president of the Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals. A judge needs to approve the deal, but if it goes through, the Dodgers will be sold for more money than any other professional sports team.Continue reading...

AMR reassures employees on pensions.

Amazon builds Fire tablet on Android without Google apps.

Anheuser-Busch president steps down.

Apple aims to shore up financial results.

Callaway tries to lure young golfers with Justin Timberlake involvement.

Chesapeake Energy pulls back on gas drilling amid glut.

Conde Nast may be cooking up another "shelter" magazine.

GM deals with Volt mini-mutiny as some Chevy dealers spurn allocations of the car.Continue reading...

A&P prepares to emerge from bankruptcy.

ABC plans to screen new TV show in theaters.

Amazon backs Hollywood film-streaming format.

Apple's Tim Cook is America's highest-paid CEO.

Daimler still trying to fix Smart brand.

Fiat will begin to emphasize product marketing over brand in U.S.

Ford cites Thai flood impact on bottom line, while U.S. car-buyers are lukewarm to hybrids.

Fox Sports settles legal dispute with Los Angeles Dodgers.

Friendly Ice Cream exits Chapter 11.Continue reading...

What do the Super Bowl, Grammy Awards, Oscars, and the 2012 Vancouver Olympics have in common?

Huge audiences.

Big "event" broadcasts in 2010 have reversed the trend of shrinking TV audiences. The Oscars drew its largest audience in a half decade; the Grammy's, its largest in six years. The Olympics was the first program to rate higher than American Idol since 2004. February's Super Bowl was the most watched TV program of all time.

With the ability to raise ad rates on such events as much as 10 percent now a real possibility, broadcasters are cheering the development. "What you see in television is the classic example of supply and demand... Yes, rights fees will keep going up. And, yes, ad fees will keep going up," said the chairman of Fox Sports.Continue reading...

Mexican QSR chain Del Taco recently launched a Facebook-based entertainment webisode platform, "The Del Taco Super Special Show," and grew its fan base from 20,000+ to 43,000+ in just five weeks according to VP, marketing John Cappasola. And that fanbase grew by another 15 percent since the brand released the second webisode in the series.

Aimed at hungry people with a sense of humor, the tagline is, "Eat it here; watch it online." The campaign ads appear on TV and radio, and offer consumers a coupon for a free Classic Taco redeemable at their next purchase. Del Taco is a major national Mexican quick-serve chain with more than 500 restaurants in 18 states and $568 million in annual revenues.Continue reading...