channel redirect here . for fox television channels outside the united states see fox channel . for the film studio that the network was named after see 20th century fox . for other uses see fox disambiguation . fox broadcasting company type broadcast television network country united states availability national international founded october 9 1986 ; 30 years ago 1986 10 09 by rupert murdoch slogan we are fox headquarters los angeles california u.s. owner fox television stations 21st century fox key people dana walden gary newman co chairpersons co ceos entertainment launch date october 9 1986 1986 10 09 on air operations april 5 1987 1987 04 05 primetime launch picture format 480i sdtv formatted to downconverted widescreen in many markets october 9 1986 june 12 2009 720 p hdtv september 12 2004 present affiliates lists by state by market official website www.fox.com notes 1 the fox broadcasting company 2 commonly referred to as fox ; stylized as fox 3 4 is an american commercial broadcast television network that is owned by the fox entertainment group subsidiary of 21st century fox . the network is headquartered at the 20th century fox studio lot on pico boulevard in the century city section of los angeles with additional major offices and production facilities at the fox television center in nearby west los angeles and the fox broadcasting center in yorkville manhattan new york . it is the third largest major television network in the world based on total revenues assets and international coverage . launched on october 9 1986 as a competitor to the big three television networks abc nbc and cbs fox went on to become the most successful attempt at a fourth television network . it was the highest rated broadcast network in the 18 49 demographic from 2004 to 2012 and earned the position as the most watched american television network in total viewership during the 2007 08 season . 5 6 fox and its affiliated companies operate many entertainment channels in international markets although these do not necessarily air the same programming as the u.s. network . most viewers in canada have access to at least one u.s. based fox affiliate either over the air or through a pay television provider although fox s national football league telecasts and most of its prime time programming are subject to simultaneous substitution regulations for cable and satellite providers imposed by the canadian radio television and telecommunications commission crtc to protect rights held by domestically based networks . the network is named after sister company 20th century fox and indirectly for producer william fox who founded one of the movie studio s predecessors fox film . fox is a member of the north american broadcasters association and the national association of broadcasters contents 1 history 1.1 origins 1.2 1980s establishment of the network 1.2.1 foundations 1.2.2 beginning of the network 1.3 1990s rise into mainstream success and beginnings of rivalry with the big three 1.3.1 luring the nfl and affiliation switches 1.3.2 evolving programming 1.4 2000s rise to ratings leadership the american idol effect and fierce rivalry with cbs 1.5 2010s network s ratings collapse and revamp in network programming 2 programming 2.1 adult animation 2.2 children s programming 2.3 news 2.4 sports 3 stations 4 differences between fox and the big three networks 4.1 network programming 4.2 news programming 5 related services 5.1 video on demand services 5.2 fox hd 6 branding 6.1 station standardization 6.2 logos 7 controversy 7.1 indecency 8 international broadcasts 8.1 canada 8.2 mexico 8.3 caribbean 8.4 asia pacific 8.4.1 guam 8.4.2 american samoa 8.4.3 federated states of micronesia 8.5 europe 8.5.1 belgium flanders 8.5.2 bulgaria 8.5.3 croatia 8.5.4 finland 8.5.5 greece 8.5.6 latvia 8.5.7 lithuania 8.5.8 netherlands 8.5.9 portugal 8.5.10 poland 8.5.11 russia 8.5.12 serbia 8.5.13 sweden 8.5.14 turkey 8.5.15 uk and ireland 9 see also 10 references 10.1 bibliography 10.2 footnotes 11 external links history edit origins edit 20th century fox had been involved in television production as early as the 1950s producing several syndicated programs during this era . in november 1956 the studio purchased a 50 % interest in the nta film network an early syndicator of films and television programs . 7 following the demise of the dumont television network in august of that year after it became mired in severe financial problems nta was launched as a new fourth network . 8 20th century fox would also produce original content for the nta network . 7 the film network effort would fail after a few years but 20th century fox continued to dabble in television through its production arm tcf television productions producing series such as perry mason for the three major broadcast television networks abc nbc and cbs . 1980s establishment of the network edit foundations edit the fox network s foundations were laid in march 1985 through news corporation s 255 million purchase of a 50 % interest in tcf holdings the parent company of the 20th century fox film studio . in may 1985 news corporation a media company owned by australian publishing magnate rupert murdoch that had mainly served as a newspaper publisher at the time of the tcf holdings deal agreed to pay 2.55 billion to acquire independent television stations in six major u.s. cities from the john kluge run broadcasting company metromedia wnew tv channel 5 in new york city wttg channel 5 in washington d.c. kttv channel 11 in los angeles kriv channel 26 in houston wfld tv channel 32 in chicago and krld tv channel 33 in dallas . a seventh station abc affiliate wcvb tv channel 5 in boston was part of the original transaction but was spun off to the hearst broadcasting subsidiary of the hearst corporation in a separate concurrent deal as part of a right of first refusal related to that station s 1982 sale to metromedia 9 10 11 two years later news corporation acquired wxne tv channel 25 in that market from the christian broadcasting network and changed its call letters to wfxt . beginning of the network edit in october 1985 20th century fox announced its intentions to form a fourth television network that would compete with abc cbs and nbc . the plans were to use the combination of the fox studios and the former metromedia stations to both produce and distribute programming . organizational plans for the network were held off until the metromedia acquisitions cleared regulatory hurdles . then in december 1985 rupert murdoch agreed to pay 325 million to acquire the remaining equity in tcf holdings from his original partner marvin davis . the purchase of the metromedia stations was approved by the federal communications commission fcc in march 1986 ; the call letters of the new york city and dallas outlets were subsequently changed respectively to wnyw and kdaf . 12 these first six stations then broadcasting to a combined reach of 22 % of the nation s households became known as the fox television stations group . except for kdaf which was sold to renaissance broadcasting in 1995 and became a wb affiliate at the same time all of the original owned and operated stations o & os are still part of the fox network today . like the core o & o group fox s affiliate body initially consisted of independent stations a few of which had maintained affiliations with abc nbc cbs and or dumont earlier in their existences . the local charter affiliate was in most cases that market s top rated independent ; however fox opted to affiliate with a second tier independent station in markets where a more established independent declined the affiliation such as denver phoenix and st. louis . largely because of both these factors fox in a situation very similar to what dumont had experienced four decades before had little choice but to affiliate with uhf stations in all except a few mainly larger markets where the network gained clearance . 13 the fox broadcasting company launched at 11 00 p.m. eastern and pacific time on october 9 1986 . its inaugural program was a late night talk show the late show which was hosted by comedian joan rivers . 14 after a strong start the late show quickly eroded in the ratings ; it was never able to overtake nbc stalwart the tonight show whose then host johnny carson upset over her becoming his late night competitor banned rivers a frequent tonight guest and substitute host from appearing on his show rivers would not appear on tonight again until february 2014 seven months before her death when jimmy fallon took over as its host . by early 1987 rivers and her then husband edgar rosenberg the show s original executive producer quit the late show after disagreements with the network over the show s creative direction ; the program then began to be hosted by a succession of guest hosts . after that point some stations that affiliated with fox in the weeks before the april 1987 launch of its prime time lineup such as wcgv tv channel 24 in milwaukee and wdrb tv channel 41 in louisville signed affiliation agreements with the network on the condition that they would not have to carry the late show due to the program s weak ratings . the network expanded its programming into prime time on april 5 1987 inaugurating its sunday night lineup with the premieres of the sitcom married ... with children and the sketch comedy series the tracey ullman show . fox added one new show per week over the next several weeks with the drama 21 jump street and comedies mr. president and duet completing its sunday schedule . 15 on july 11 the network rolled out its saturday night schedule with the premiere of the supernatural drama series werewolf which began with a two hour pilot movie event . three other series were added to the saturday lineup over the next three weeks comedies the new adventures of beans baxter karen s song and down and out in beverly hills the latter being an adaptation of the film of the same name . both karen s song and down and out in beverly hills were canceled by the start of the 1987 88 television season the network s first fall launch and were replaced by the sitcoms second chance and women in prison . in regards to its late night lineup fox had already decided to cancel the late show and had a replacement series in development the wilton north report when the former series began a ratings resurgence under its final guest host comedian arsenio hall . wilton north lasted just a few weeks however and the network was unable to reach a deal with hall to return as host when it hurriedly revived the late show in early 1988 . the late show went back to featuring guest hosts eventually selecting ross shafer as its permanent host only for it to be canceled for good by october 1988 while hall signed a deal with paramount television to develop his own syndicated late night talk show the arsenio hall show . although it had modest successes in married ... with children and the tracy ullman show several affiliates were disappointed with fox s largely underperforming programming lineup during the network s first three years ; kmsp tv channel 9 in minneapolis st. paul and kptv channel 12 in portland oregon both owned at the time by chris craft television disaffiliated from fox in 1988 with kitn channel 29 now wftc and kpdx channel 49 respectively replacing those stations as fox affiliates citing that the network s weaker program offerings were hampering viewership of their stronger syndicated slate . the network added a third night of programming on mondays at the start of the 1989 90 television season a season that heralded the start of a turnaround for fox . that season saw the debut of