Fox Corp, of the US, owned by the Murdoch family, is rumoured to be interested in buying the celebrity and entertainment gossip and news website TMZ from its current parent Warner Media, owned by AT&T. The deal may be worth in the region of $100m to $125m and Fox already airs the TMZ TV programmes on its TV stations. TMZ was founded by Harvey Levin in 2005. He retains a deal of editorial independence under Warner Brothers ownership and will seek to retain this under any new deal. AT&T is currently divesting its media assets as it pivots towards a focus on 5G telephony. It is thought that acquiring TMZ might be a first step in Fox seeking to compete with Penske Media’s portfolio of Variety, Hollywood Reporter, and Deadline.
Fox Corp ‘wants TMZ’
