posted 07-22-2013 02:03 PM                    

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News Corp Announces Another New Overall Name - 21st Century Fox
by Alex Billington
April 16, 2013
Source: Deadline

It's time to take things into the 21st Century. I was wondering when this would happen! It has been revealed in an official internal email written by News Corporation owner Rupert Murdoch that movie studio 20th Century Fox will finally get an updated name change to 21st Century Fox. This will properly represent the fact that we now live in the 21st century, even though Fox was originally founded in 1935 by the merger of Fox Films and 20th Century Pictures, Inc. during the 20th Century. We expect a formal announcement at CinemaCon this week, along with a new logo (the one above is a CG creation) but this is big industry news.

One of the wealthiest persons on this planet, News Corp owner Rupert Murdoch, wrote a lengthy email to the staff of News Corporation this week announcing the new name. The full memo (detailing their history) can be read on Deadline, but we've included a few of the better excerpts below regrading the name change.

It's with great enthusiasm that I share with you today's news that we've chosen a new name for the media and entertainment company that will be formed as part of the proposed separation of News Corporation.

After much exploration, and valuable input from our executive team, we've chosen the name 21st Century Fox to take us into the future. 21st Century Fox is a name that draws upon the rich creative heritage of Twentieth Century Fox, while also speaking to the innovation and dynamism that must define each of our businesses through the 21st Century. Our new name is inspired by the very first company we acquired nearly thirty years ago as our initial foray into the awe-inspiring world of entertainment.

Together, as 21st Century Fox, we have the creative magic, innovation and global footprint required to wow consumers around the world — every day. We haven't forgotten our roots in the entertainment world, and the legacy we inherited and built will guide us as we drive forward towards what is undoubtedly a future of even greater heights throughout this 21st Century and beyond. I can't wait to get started.

While the name "20th Century Fox" and the logo that accompanies it (and the music!) are very iconic, I've been wondering if they would ever update that name to be more current considering we entered the "21st Century" thirteen years ago. Now it's finally time, and Murdoch has decided to roll up the name change with his "proposed separation of News Corporation". For moviegoers, that doesn't mean much besides that he's retitling everything in film/TV to 21st Century Fox, similar to the way the company exists now (producing and distributing movies and TV content), but now they're ready "to take us into the future." Is this a big response to my claim that "Hollywood is behind the times"? Either way, it's very interesting news to report.

Update! There is an important quote in Murdoch's memo regarding names that states: "Both studios [TV & film] will maintain the name Twentieth Century Fox in recognition of their rich histories and strong connections with audiences across the globe." So, the movie studio itself is not being retitled, but the entire division of News Corp where the film & TV divisions are, will exist under the bigger name "21st Century Fox". This seems like it's making things a lot more confusing than helping, but that's what his memo states.

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No Name Change For 20th Century Fox
By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Tuesday April 16, 2013 @ 3:26pm PDT

Forget that News Corp is renaming its new separate media and entertainment business 21st Century Fox to take it into the future. 20th Century Fox is sticking to its past. ”The film studio is not changing names or logo,” a 20th Century Fox movie exec tells me today. Another tells me that the TV studios also are keeping the 20th Century Fox name. Why? Because the studios studied the situation and discovered that the name is one of the most recognizable in the world and has “real value” and “positive association” to the public, particularly overseas. (I hear that’s why the parent company is leveraging that name.) “It’s an 80-year-old brand that stands for something and means something to people,” the studio decided. Executives tell me the studio would have changed its moniker at the millennium. “But it’s long since lost the connection to the century. It’s a brand. It’s something that has lasted. The other company is brand new and begins in the 21st century.” I’m told that Rupert Murdoch and his Big Media corporation had “no issue” with 20th Century Fox retaining its name. I personally think that the film/TV studios simply didn’t want to pay to change all that perfectly good letterhead stationery. Meanwhile, Futurama keeps calling the studio ’30th Century Fox’.

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posted 07-25-2013 02:00 AM                    

quote: Claude S. Ayakawa

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Of all the studio logos and fanfares, 20th Century Fox has always been my favorite especially with the CinemaScope extension.

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