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The post that will become vacant following Grushow's exit is not
being filled up for now. Instead, Fox Entertainment president Gail
Berman and Twentieth Century Fox Television co-presidents Gary Newman
and Dana Walden will now report to Fox Group chairman and CEO Peter
Chernin.
Grushow has been quoted in a News Corp press release as saying,
"This was a very complicated decision for me to make. I've
accomplished more than I ever thought possible as a buyer and seller
of TV shows, but as I contemplated my future over the holidays,
I concluded that it was in my best interest to exercise the 'production'
option negotiated as part of my current contract rather than entering
into another long-term executive agreement with the Company."
"I've spent almost my entire career at Fox - from helping
to launch a network that no one thought would ever succeed, to leading
the television studio to industry prominence, to leading the network
to a record three consecutive second-place season finishes, including
two historic sweeps victories. Needless to say, it's been an extraordinary
two decades. Through the years, I've been privileged to have Peter
Chernin's support and friendship and one of the nicest aspects of
my deal is that we can continue this uniquely successful relationship
in my new role as a Fox producer," he further added.
Grushow, who started his career as an intern at Twentieth Century
Fox in 1983, joined Fox Entertainment Group in 1988 as senior VP
of advertising and promotion but left in 1995 as executive VP and
president of the Group to become president of the interactive TV
service Tele-TV. In November 1999, he returned to spearhead the
Group as chairman and has been since overseeing entertainment operations
at the Fox Broadcasting Company and its sister studio Twentieth
Century Fox Television.
Chernin was also quoted in the release as saying, "Sandy has
been a close and valued colleague for almost 20 years and he will
be missed. His contributions to the evolution of Fox are too numerous
to list - but I can say that Sandy's determination and savvy leadership
over these past years have helped make the network and studio what
they are today. I think he probably has had as long a tenure at
the top of the fast-changing television industry as anyone in the
business, and as much as I would have liked to continue to work
shoulder to shoulder with Sandy as an executive, I certainly respect
his decision and am looking forward to continuing our successful
association."
Fox Entertainment Group, Inc. is owned 82 per cent by The News
Corporation Limited and has total assets of approximately $24 billion
and total annual revenues of approximately $11 billion as of 30
September 2003.
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