Forbes’ Jeff Bercovici thinks — although we’re not so sure for the very reasons he lays out in his story — that Roger Ailes would be the key to a successful News Corp. challenge to ESPN. “If there’s one person in the television business who could take on the Worldwide Leader and win, it’s Ailes,” writes Bercovici.
If I were [News Corp. chairman Rupert] Murdoch, I would strongly consider putting Ailes in charge of the new network. (As it stands, Fox Sports chairman David Hill is reported to be leading the effort.) Maybe he wouldn’t want the job. Maybe he’d have trouble working up the necessary spittle for something that’s not his primary passion, politics. (The last network he launched, Fox Business, frequently feels more like a political channel than a business channel.) Maybe, at 72, he’s not inclined to undertake a new multi-year campaign. That would be a shame. If there’s one person in the television business who could take on the Worldwide Leader and win, it’s Ailes.