News Corp. COO Chase Carey spoke at a conference hosted by Goldman Sachs today, and while he didn’t break any big news, there were some interesting tidbits. As The Hollywood Reporter notes, Carey said that a new round of carriage negotiations would be beginning soon for Fox News, and that the company would once again be seeking big increases in fees.
“We aim to take that business closer to what we think reflects the value of that channel,” Carey said, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Carey has been speaking about how FNC is undervalued for years.
He also addressed the long-rumored Fox Sports channel. Carey said coyly “We obviously haven’t announced anything,” according to B&C.
One source at News Corp. tells me that Fox is planning to move forward with the channel, which is being referred to internally as “Fox Sports 1” or “The 1” for short. A check of the US Patent & Trademark Office files show that Fox Sports filed for trademarks on “Fox Sports 1,” Fox Sports The 1″ and “The 1” on September 14. Those filings do not prove that News Corp. plans to move forward with the project, but indicates that it is progressing to the point where the company wants to protect potential names for the channel.
In Australia, News Corp.’s national sports channel is called Fox Sports 1,” so the company has some experience with that name. In all probability, the company would re-brand one of its lesser-rated channels, like Fuel TV, and turn that into the new sports network, giving it a jumping off point of carriage.