Australian media mogul Rupert Murdoch became a U.S. citizen in the 1980s in order to buy out the 20th Century Fox film studio and give it a sibling TV network. The
FOX network began broadcasts in 1986 and, within three years, debuted its
signature series. Currently known for
canceling just about any show before the first season even ends, which was heavily mocked by
Family Guy,
among others
. One wonders how they're getting creative teams to even attempt to produce new shows on their network at all, considering the fact that the average lifespan for a new show on their network is about 6 weeks. Also well known for its co-owned cable news channel, which is famously conservative-leaning.
Prior to the popularity explosion of
American Idol , Fox picked up the NFC contract in 1993 for over a billion dollars, shocking the industry. The network signed up with stations owned by New World Communications, owner of stations in several NFC markets. This had devastating effects on
CBS, who had to move to UHF stations in several cities (such as channel 46 in Atlanta, initially set to affiliate with
The WB , and channel 62 in Detroit). Fox also signed over football commentators from CBS in addition to plundering its affiliates.