News Corp. has "put its cable holdings under one banner
called Fox Cable Networks," according to Sallie Hofmeister
of the L.A. TIMES, who writes that the "reorganization is an
effort to capitalize on News Corp.'s enormous clout --
particularly in sports programming -- and expand its
influence with operators and advertisers." News Corp. will
name Fox Sports Net President Jeff Shell to the newly
created position of Fox Cable President & CEO. Shell will
also oversee Fox Sports Enterprises, which includes News
Corp.'s investment in the Dodgers and Staples Center.
Hofmeister: "The new structure enhances the company's
ability to strong-arm cable operators. ... News Corp. is
also looking at ways to bundle its cable in packages for
advertisers. The company could soon align sports channels
and television stations in the same region to more
effectively compete for ad dollars with other media
conglomerates." Shell said that he will also "be
concentrating on new channel launches," and Hofmeister
reports that Fox is launching a new service "tentatively
called" Cable Sports Gold, which will "condense the news and
college games airing on its regional sports services into a
new channel that will be exclusive to cable." Shell: "This
will give [cable operators] an answer to some of DirecTV's
sports offerings" (L.A. TIMES, 4/20).
