Fox 21 & Fox TV Studios to Merge

HOLLYWOOD: Fox 21 and Fox Television Studios are being combined into a single entity, the newly formed Fox 21 Television Studios, led by Bert Salke.

Salke, who has been serving as the president of Fox 21, takes on the role of president for Fox 21 Television Studios. The new Fox 21 Television Studios’ roster will already boast more than a dozen critically acclaimed TV series, among them Homeland, The Americans, Sons of Anarchy, Tyrant and The Killing, and has eight other projects in the pipeline such as American Crime Story: The People V. O.J. Simpson, The Bastard Executioner, Clan of the Cave Bear and The Comedians, with further projects in development.

Fox 21 Television Studios will be headquartered in Los Angeles. Assisting Salke with the transition, as the companies merge over the coming months, will be Twentieth Century Fox Television’s executive VP of brand management and digital strategy, Mark Pearson. Pearson and Salke will integrate the teams, combine the creative cultures, and develop a comprehensive business plan and strategy for the new division.

Fox Television Group's chairmen and CEOs, Dana Walden and Gary Newman, said: “The executive talent at Fox 21 and FTVS is extraordinary and we realized that with David Madden’s move to FBC, we had a fantastic opportunity to combine these two groups into a single, more powerful organization.

“Bert Salke’s record speaks for itself. He is an enormously talented executive who has built Fox 21 into an industry leader, infused with an intense, distinctive brand that is reflected in every project he develops. He is undeniably the best person to lead this new company. We chose the name Fox 21 Television Studios to honor the rich legacies of great content created by each unit, from Homeland, Sons of Anarchy and Tyrant at Fox 21, to Burn Notice, The Americans and The Killing at FTVS.”

Salke commented, “I’m grateful to Gary and Dana for the incredible support they’ve given me at Fox 21 and for this opportunity. Our task is to merge the two companies into a cohesive new entity that will maximize the best of what each individual studio offered before. In the coming weeks, I look forward to getting to know my new colleagues and rolling up my sleeves, with Mark’s help, to devise the best structure and business plan—and to help make the new studio the ‘go-to’ supplier of the most undeniable programming possible.”