Fox's Competitiveness

General. Cable network programming is a highly competitive business. Cable networks compete for content and distribution and, when distribution is obtained, for viewers and advertisers with free-to-air broadcast television, radio, print media, motion picture theaters, DVDs, Blu-ray high definition format discs (“Blu-rays”), Internet, wireless and portable viewing devices and other sources of information and entertainment. Important competitive factors include the prices charged for programming, the quantity, quality and variety of programming offered and the effectiveness of marketing efforts.

FOX News. FOX News Channel’s primary competition comes from the cable networks CNN, HLN (CNN’s Headline News), and MSNBC. Fox Business Network’s primary competition comes from the cable networks CNBC and Bloomberg Television. FOX News Channel and FOX Business Network also compete for viewers and advertisers within a broad spectrum of television networks, including other non-news cable networks and free-to-air broadcast television networks.
Sports programming operations. A number of basic and pay television programming services, such as ESPN and NBC Sports Network, as well as free-to-air stations and broadcast networks, provide programming that also targets Fox Sports 1, Fox Sports 2 and the FSN RSNs’ respective audience. On a national level, the primary competitors to Fox Sports 1, Fox Sports 2 and FSN are ESPN, ESPN2, NBC Sports Network and CBS Sports Net. In regional markets, the FSN RSNs compete with other regional sports networks, including those operated by team owners, cable television systems, local broadcast television stations and other sports programming providers and distributors. Fox Sports 1, Fox Sports 2 and FSN also face competition online from Major League Baseball Advanced Media, Yahoo Sports, ESPN.com, NBCSports.com and CBSSports.com, among others.

In addition, Fox Sports 1, Fox Sports 2, the FSN RSNs and FSN compete, to varying degrees, for sports programming rights. The FSN RSNs compete for local and regional rights with local broadcast television stations, other local and regional sports networks, including sports networks launched by team owners, and distribution outlets, such as cable television systems. Fox Sports 1, Fox Sports 2 and FSN compete for national rights principally with a number of national cable and broadcast services that specialize in or carry sports programming, including sports networks launched by the leagues and conferences, and television “superstations” that distribute sports. Independent syndicators also compete by acquiring and reselling such rights nationally, regionally and locally. Distribution outlets, such as cable television systems, sometimes contract directly with the sports teams in their service area for the right to distribute a number of those teams’ games on their systems. In certain markets, the owners of distribution outlets, such as cable television systems, also own one or more of the professional teams in the region, increasing their ability to launch competing networks and also limiting the professional sports rights available for acquisition by FSN RSNs.

FX and FXX. FX and FXX face competition from a number of basic cable and pay television programming services, such as USA Network (“USA”), TNT, Spike TV, Home Box Office, Inc. (“HBO”) and Showtime Networks (“Showtime”), as well as free-to-air broadcast networks and Internet subscription and rental services that provide programming that targets the same viewing audience as FX and FXX. FX and FXX also face competition from these programming services in the acquisition of distribution rights to movie and series programming.

National Geographic U.S. National Geographic Channel and Nat Geo Wild face competition for viewers and advertising from a number of basic cable and broadcast television channels, such as Discovery Channel, History Channel, Animal Planet, Travel Channel, Science Channel, H2, Military Channel, Biography and Tru TV, as well as free-to-air broadcast networks and sports, news and general entertainment networks which have acquired or produced competing programming.
FIC. Internationally, the Company’s cable businesses compete with various local and foreign television services providers and distribution networks for audiences, advertising, content acquisition and distribution platforms.

STAR India. In India, the pay television broadcasting industry has several participants, and STAR India’s entertainment channels compete with both pay and free-to-air channels since they are delivered by common cable, direct-to-home and IPTV. STAR India also competes in India to acquire Hindi and other Indian languages film and programming rights, and internationally for English film and programming rights.

Competition. The network television broadcasting business is highly competitive. FOX and MyNetworkTV compete with other broadcast networks, such as ABC, NBC, CBS and The CW Television Network, independent television stations, cable and direct broadcast satellite (“DBS”) program services, as well as other media, including DVDs, Blu-rays, digital video recorders (“DVR”), video games, print and the Internet for audiences, programming and, in the case of FOX, advertising revenues. In addition, FOX and MyNetworkTV compete with other broadcast networks and other programming distribution services to secure affiliations or station agreements with independently owned television stations in markets across the United States. ABC, NBC and CBS each broadcasts a significantly greater number of hours of programming than FOX and, accordingly, may be able to designate or change time periods in which programming is to be broadcast with greater flexibility than FOX. In addition, future technological developments may affect competition within the television marketplace.

Each of the stations owned and operated by Fox Television Stations also competes for advertising revenues with other television stations and radio and cable systems in its respective market area, along with other advertising media, such as newspapers, magazines, outdoor advertising, direct mail and Internet websites. All of the stations owned and operated by Fox Television Stations are located in highly competitive markets. Additional elements that are material to the competitive position of each of the television stations include management experience, authorized power and assigned frequency of that station. Competition for sales of broadcast advertising time is based primarily on the anticipated and actually delivered size and demographic characteristics of audiences as determined by various rating services, price, the time of day when the advertising is to be broadcast, competition from the other broadcast networks, cable television systems, DBS services and other media and general economic conditions. Competition for audiences is based primarily on the selection of programming, the acceptance of which is dependent on the reaction of the viewing public, which is often difficult to predict.

Competition. Motion picture production and distribution are highly competitive businesses. The Company competes with other film studios, independent production companies and others for the acquisition of artistic properties, the services of creative and technical personnel, exhibition outlets and the public’s interest in its products. The number of motion pictures released by the Company’s competitors, particularly the other major film studios, in any given period may create an oversupply of product in the market, which may reduce the Company’s shares of gross box office admissions and may make it more difficult for the Company’s motion pictures to succeed. The commercial success of the motion pictures produced and/or distributed by the Company is affected substantially by the public’s unpredictable response to them. The competitive risks affecting the Company’s home entertainment business include the number of home entertainment titles released by the Company’s competitors that may create an oversupply of product in the market, competition among home media formats, such as DVDs and Blu-rays, and other methods of distribution, such as EST and VOD services.

Competition. Similar to motion picture production and distribution, production and distribution of television programming is extremely competitive. The Company competes with other film studios, independent production companies and others for the acquisition of artistic properties, the services of creative and technical personnel, exhibition outlets and the public’s interest in its products. In addition, television networks have affiliated production companies from which they are increasingly obtaining their programming, which has reduced the demand for programming from other non-affiliated parties.

Competition. Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland compete with companies that offer video, audio, interactive programming, telephony, data and other information and entertainment services, including broadcasters of free-to-air television channels, broadband Internet providers, digital terrestrial transmission (“DTT”) services, wireless companies and companies that are developing new media technologies.