Fox News is a key asset of the new, slimmed-down company
(Bloomberg) — Former House Speaker Paul Ryan has joined the board of Fox Corp., the media company that begins its new life Tuesday after Rupert Murdoch sold much of his empire to Walt Disney Co. last year.
The former Republican congressman decided not to seek re-election after serving as House speaker since 2015. In that role, he was interviewed often on Fox News, the cable news channel that will be a key asset in the slimmed-down version of the new company.
The new Fox will be led by Murdoch’s elder son, Lachlan, and will focus largely on sports and news — two forms of programming that have held up well in the ratings despite fewer people watching television. Tuesday is its first day as a standalone publicly traded company, and the Disney deal officially closes around midnight.
Other new Fox board members include Chase Carey, the chairman of Formula 1, who had been a longtime lieutenant in the Murdoch empire starting in 1988. His career there included a stint as president and chief operating officer of what was formerly called 21st Century Fox.
Fox Corp. also named Anne Dias, founder of Aragon Global Holdings, and Roland A. Hernandez, a former chief executive officer at Telemundo Group Inc., as directors.