FOX BROADCASTING COMPANY

American television broadcasting company founded in 1986 by the media magnate Rupert Murdoch. It is a subsidiary of Fox, Inc., and it is headquartered in Beverly Hills, Calif. With the considerable financial backing of Murdoch, the network began with 79 affiliate stations that reached 80 percent of homes in the United States. Its first broadcast, a late-night talk show hosted by comedienne Joan Rivers, aired on Oct. 9, 1986. The following March the network expanded into prime-time programing on Saturday and Sunday nights. Chief executive officer Barry Diller and president Jamie Kellner were responsible for Fox's programming philosophy, which appealed to the young, affluent audiences that advertisers favoured. Over the next seven years, the company increased broadcast hours until the network was on the air seven nights a week and gained more affiliates, making it available across the nation. The most popular Fox programmes included the fact-based America's Most Wanted and Cops; the animated cartoon The Simpsons; the comedy Married . . . with Children; and the drama Melrose Place. It added programing divisions for children and sports in the 1990s.