FX rebrands to Fox

Fox will broaden its schedule beyond “edgy first-run series” to other genres as it looks to better serve its “ever-expanding audience” when it relaunches from FX on 11 January 2013.

New programmes added to the schedule will include the acquisition of US comedy Louie, an afternoon Ricki Lake-fronted chat show, US sitcom Men at Work and a second season of The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret.

FIC (Fox International Channels), FX’s owner company, says the rebrand marks a “natural evolution of the brand in becoming a bigger TV destination” after the channel achieved “record-breaking audience figures” earlier this year. FX attracted an average weekly reach of 4.07 million viewers, a 0.3 per cent share of the market in the week to 4 November, according to BARB.

Jason Thorp, FIC’s European executive vice president of content and managing director of UK and Africa, says: “Fox has always been behind the spirit and success of FX. Now is the time for us to reward viewers by adding even more unmissable new content under a brand name recognised globally for delivering smart entertainment with an edge.”

FIC is owned by News Corporation, which also has a stake in BSkyB and owns News International.