# Fox Corporation Fox Corporation is the publicly traded mass media company created in March 2019 from the assets the Murdoch family retained after selling the majority of [[21st Century Fox]] to Disney for $71.3 billion. The company is the corporate parent of [[Fox News]], Fox Sports, the Fox broadcast network, Fox Television Stations, and the Tubi free streaming platform. Controlled by the Murdoch family through dual-class supervoting shares, Fox Corporation is the financial and legal vehicle through which the most-watched cable news network in the United States operates — and the entity that absorbed the largest known media defamation settlement in American history. ## Origins: The Disney Split The 2019 creation of Fox Corporation was the product of a decision by [[Rupert Murdoch]] to sell the entertainment side of his empire while keeping the news and sports operations that carried the most political influence. In December 2017, Disney announced it would acquire most of [[21st Century Fox]] in a deal ultimately valued at $71.3 billion. Disney received the 20th Century Fox film and television studios, FX Networks, National Geographic, Star India, and a controlling stake in Hulu. What Murdoch kept — and spun off into the newly formed Fox Corporation — was the infrastructure of political media and live sports: - **[[Fox News]]** and Fox Business Network - **Fox Sports** — including broadcast rights to the NFL, MLB, NASCAR, and college football - **Fox Broadcasting Company** — the broadcast network - **Fox Television Stations** — 29 owned-and-operated local stations - **Fox Nation** — the subscription streaming service launched in 2018, oriented toward opinion content and conservative programming - **Tubi** — the free ad-supported streaming platform, acquired in 2020 for $440 million Fox Corporation began trading on the Nasdaq under the tickers FOXA (Class A) and FOX (Class B) on March 19, 2019. The structural effect was to create a publicly traded company whose value proposition was overwhelmingly tied to the political influence and audience loyalty of [[Fox News]]. ## Corporate Structure and Control Fox Corporation operates under a dual-class share structure. The Murdoch family controls approximately 39% of the company's voting power through Class B supervoting shares, despite holding a much smaller economic stake. This structure insulates the family from shareholder pressure and ensures that editorial and strategic decisions remain under Murdoch control — a governance model common among media dynasties but increasingly controversial among institutional investors. [[Rupert Murdoch]] served as chairman of Fox Corporation from its creation until September 2023, when he stepped down at age 92. [[Lachlan Murdoch]] succeeded him as sole chairman and CEO, consolidating operational control of both Fox Corporation and [[News Corporation]]. ## The Dominion Settlement The defining legal event in Fox Corporation's history is the [[Dominion Voting Systems]] defamation lawsuit. After [[Fox News]] hosts and guests spent weeks in late 2020 and early 2021 broadcasting claims that Dominion's voting machines had been rigged to steal the presidential election from [[Donald Trump]], Dominion sued Fox News Network for $1.6 billion. Discovery in the case produced internal communications that became the most revealing look inside a major American news organization ever made public. Fox hosts including [[Tucker Carlson]] privately mocked the election fraud claims they promoted on air. [[Rupert Murdoch]] acknowledged in a deposition that certain Fox hosts had endorsed the false narrative. Executives made editorial decisions based on audience retention rather than accuracy — fearing that correcting the lies would drive viewers to competitors. On April 18, 2023, on the eve of trial, Fox settled for **$787.5 million** — the largest known media defamation settlement in U.S. history. Fox acknowledged the court's finding that it had broadcast false statements about Dominion but issued no on-air apology. [[Lachlan Murdoch]] told investors there would be "no change" in Fox News programming strategy. The settlement was paid by Fox Corporation shareholders, not by the hosts or executives who made the editorial decisions. A separate defamation lawsuit filed by [[Smartmatic]], seeking $2.7 billion in damages over similar election fraud claims, remains pending. ## The Murdoch Succession Battle Fox Corporation's long-term governance has been shaped by an extraordinary family succession dispute over the Murdoch Family Trust, which controls the Class B supervoting shares in both Fox Corporation and [[News Corporation]]. [[Rupert Murdoch]] attempted to amend the irrevocable family trust to give [[Lachlan Murdoch]] — his chosen heir and the most politically conservative of his children — sole decision-making control after Rupert's death or incapacity. The other beneficiaries — James, Elisabeth, and Prudence Murdoch — opposed the change. In **December 2024**, a Reno, Nevada probate court rejected Rupert's bid to restructure the trust, ruling that the amendment had been made in "bad faith." The decision was a significant setback for Lachlan's position and introduced uncertainty about the editorial future of Fox News — James Murdoch in particular had been publicly critical of Fox's rightward trajectory and its role in amplifying [[Disinformation]]. In **September 2025**, the family reached a **$3.3 billion settlement**. Lachlan Murdoch received control of the trust, which holds approximately 36% of Fox Corporation's Class B shares and 33% of [[News Corporation]]'s Class B shares. James, Elisabeth, and Prudence each received payouts exceeding $1 billion. The trust is set to expire in 2050, giving Lachlan effective control of the Murdoch media empire for the next quarter century. ## Key Personnel Changes **Tucker Carlson fired (April 2023):** Days after the Dominion settlement, Fox Corporation terminated [[Tucker Carlson]], its highest-rated primetime host. The firing was linked to a combination of factors including inflammatory internal communications revealed during Dominion discovery, a separate defamation lawsuit by a former Fox producer, and Carlson's increasingly extreme editorial direction. Carlson subsequently launched an independent show on X (formerly Twitter). **[[Sean Hannity]]** remains Fox News's signature primetime host and one of the most influential voices in conservative media, with a direct personal relationship with [[Donald Trump]] that dates to the [[First Trump Administration]]. ## Financial Profile Fox Corporation reported approximately $14.9 billion in revenue for fiscal year 2024. The company's value is heavily concentrated in Fox News, which generates the majority of its cable network advertising and affiliate fee revenue. Fox Sports contributes significant revenue through broadcast rights deals, and Tubi has grown as a free streaming competitor, but the company's financial identity remains inseparable from the Fox News brand. ## KB Relevance Fox Corporation matters to this knowledge base as the corporate structure through which the Murdoch family exercises political influence over American conservatism. The company is not merely a media business — it is the legal and financial architecture of the [[Conservative Media Ecosystem]]'s most powerful institution. Three dynamics make Fox Corporation a critical node: 1. **The supervoting share structure** demonstrates how [[Media Consolidation]] enables a single family to control the editorial direction of the most-watched news network in the country, insulated from both market discipline and shareholder accountability. 2. **The Dominion settlement** is the clearest documented evidence in the KB that Fox News operates on commercial incentives rather than journalistic ones. Internal communications showed executives choosing audience retention over truth — a real-world case study in [[Manufacturing Consent]] and the economics of [[Propaganda]]. 3. **The succession settlement** locked in Lachlan Murdoch's control through 2050, ensuring that the editorial direction of Fox News — and its relationship with the [[Republican Party]], [[Populism]], and the broader right-wing political ecosystem — will remain under the control of the most politically conservative Murdoch heir for a generation. ## See Also - [[Fox News]] — The cable news network that is Fox Corporation's most consequential asset - [[Dominion Voting Systems]] — Filed the defamation lawsuit that produced Fox's $787.5 million settlement - [[Smartmatic]] — Pending $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox - [[Rupert Murdoch]] — Fox Corporation founder and former chairman - [[Lachlan Murdoch]] — Current chairman and CEO; controls the Murdoch Family Trust through 2050 - [[21st Century Fox]] — Fox Corporation's predecessor company - [[News Corporation]] — The other Murdoch-controlled public company, sharing the same trust governance - [[Conservative Media Ecosystem]] — The broader landscape in which Fox Corporation operates - [[Tucker Carlson]] — Fired from Fox News days after the Dominion settlement - [[Manufacturing Consent]] — The theoretical framework for understanding Fox's editorial-commercial dynamic