Let us remember who runs Fox... I believe its a fellow named Murdoch?
Rupert Murdoch's Cheesy Shows
With millions tuning in to hits like Joe Millionaire and Man vs. Beast, News Corp.'s CEO rules the waves.
FORTUNE
Have you ever wondered who could pull a DC-10 faster--an elephant or four-dozen midgets? Someone at Fox did, and so, evidently, did the 9.2 million viewers who tuned in last month to a prime-time special called Man vs. Beast. The program also featured a hot-dog-eating contest between a Kodiak bear and an immense Japanese man who had previously appeared on Fox's The Glutton Bowl. Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis showed up to provide commentary for a 100-meter race between a sprinter and a zebra, informing viewers that in order to win, the zebra would have to "realize that it's a race." Victory, in fact, went to the zebra, elephant, and bear.
The beasts seem to be holding their own inside Fox, which is riding the reality-TV craze as hard as it can. Peter Chernin--the chief operating officer of News Corp who began his post-Berkeley career in book publishing--makes no apologies for Fox's attention-grabbing shows, as long as they are well produced and original. He is thrilled by Joe Millionaire and American Idol, which have blossomed into cultural phenomena. On Joe Millionaire, comely women compete for the love of a "millionaire" who, unbeknownst to them, made a mere $19,000 working construction last year. On American Idol, young singers, some long on hope and short on talent, compete for a record contract that will be awarded by an audience vote. "These shows have a tremendous--in the best sense of the word--voyeuristic appeal," Chernin says. "You are seeing raw, naked emotion." Traditional Hollywood is afraid that reality shows will drive scripted shows off the air. That's unlikely, but the new hits are forcing the producers of dramas and sitcoms to deliver more compelling fare.
What we are witnessing in a sense is Rupert Murdoch's takeover of prime time. Today, as the chairman and CEO of News Corp., Murdoch is worth about $7 billion, and he wields more power than any other media titan. To be sure, reality shows have been around since Candid Camera. And the current boom was ignited by ABC's Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. But Fox pushed the genre to extremes, with such specials as When Animals Attack, World’s Scariest Police Chases, and Celebrity Boxing. Predictably, Fox was also the first network to eroticize the form with Temptation Island, a program that tested the fidelity of couples by having them mingle with sexy singles. Had Fox not pushed the envelope, GE-owned NBC would not now be inviting contestants on Fear Factor to eat horse rectums. Nor would Disney's ABC be preparing to air Are You Hot? The Search for America's Sexiest People.
Murdoch himself has no special affinity for such titillating fare, although he does like to tweak the British establishment by featuring bare-breasted women on Page Three of the Sun, his mass-circulation daily. News Corp.'s output is diverse. It publishes sensationalistic tabloids as well as elite papers in London and Sydney. Its Zondervan unit, a Christian communications firm, is the world's No. 1 publisher of Bibles; HarperCollins publishes The Bartender's Bible. "Rupert is not looking to impose his tastes on the creative output of this company," Chernin says. "He is not that actively involved." What kinds of shows does Murdoch like? "News and hits," Chernin says.
Still, Murdoch has put his stamp on Fox by hiring bold, creative people and encouraging them to try anything. That's how Fox has come up with such groundbreaking shows as 24, a suspenseful serial that's one of television's best dramas, and The Simpsons, which Chernin justifiably calls a "work of genius." The Fox network continues to lose money, but its hits provide the buzz and the brand for the company's 35 owned TV stations, which brought in $599 million in operating income last year. It's easy to forget the derision Murdoch endured when he launched the fourth network 16 years ago.
There's no sign, by the way, that the reality craze is fading. Fox has just ordered a dating show called Spellbound, to be produced by Elizabeth Murdoch, Rupert's daughter. In the pilot episode three gorgeous women compete for the attention of a man who is their perfect match except that he is unattractive. The women do not know that because they have been hypnotized into believing he's a sex idol. The denouement comes when the man breaks the spell. Elizabeth Murdoch described the program to the trade paper Electronic Media as "cringe-worthy television, but fantastic, so you can't help but watch it." The apple does not fall far from the tree.
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