News Corp. has appointed 18-year Fox veteran Peter Levinsohn, 40, president of Fox Interactive Media (FIM), following the resignation of the unit's current president, Ross Levinsohn, effective Nov. 27, 2006.
"Peter is a highly respected executive who has proven himself an effective leader who not only has a deep understanding of this company, but has also overseen one of the most aggressive digital expansions of any media organization," said Peter Chernin, president/coo of News Corp. "At this point in FIM's evolution, Peter's adept leadership, keen knowledge of the complexities of the digital space and ability to work skillfully across multiple business lines makes him the ideal person to lead this important asset into the future.
"Ross has done an incredible job over the past couple of years launching News Corp.'s Internet division from scratch and building one of the most innovative destinations on the Web," Chernin continued. "His strategic vision helped us to establish a strong Internet presence in a very short time and we are enormously grateful for his many contributions. I know Ross will be successful in whatever he chooses to do next and we hope there is an opportunity for us to participate."
Ross Levinsohn said: "Launching Fox Interactive Media has been one of the most energizing and fulfilling experiences of my career. It has been incredibly exciting to be a part of something that's pioneering a new way for people to live their lives on the web. I realize there are incredible opportunities in the marketplace and I look forward to my next venture."
Peter Levinsohn had been president of Digital Media for the Fox Ent. Group since 2004, where he has been responsible for developing and managing overall digital media strategy, including identifying digital content distribution opportunities, pursuing long-term strategic initiatives with major technology players and leading the company's effort to establish robust content protection measures.
Peter Levinsohn was a key architect in the groundbreaking digital revenue sharing agreement with Fox affiliates and also led the FOX on Demand effort, which brought primetime series to the Internet on an ad-supported basis through MySpace.com and the MyFoxLocal websites. Additionally, he's headed Fox's development of the VOD business and electronic sell-through for film and television product, including recent deals with iTunes, Amazon, AOL, MSN, MovieLink and CinemaNow.
He had a dual role as president of Worldwide Pay Television, overseeing strategy and distribution for licensing Fox's feature film and television programming to pay television, pay-per-view, video-on-demand and electronic sell through outlets throughout the world. He joined Fox's Worldwide Pay Television division in 1990 and served in a variety of positions before becoming the unit's president in 2004. He joined 20th Century Fox in 1989 as a manager in the International Theatrical division.
News Corp. (www.newscorp.com) had total assets as of Sept. 30, 2006, of approximately $58 billion and total annual revenues of approximately $26 billion. News Corp. is a diversified entertainment company with operations in eight industry segments: filmed entertainment; television; cable network programming; direct broadcast satellite television; magazines and inserts; newspapers; book publishing and other. News Corp. activities are conducted principally in the U.S., Continental Europe, the U.K., Australia, Asia and the Pacific Basin.
