Fox International Channels to expand into lifestyle content

News Corporation's international TV arm is to launch a range of lifestyle-oriented online and TV channels as part of a new Fox Essentials grouping that will take it into direct competition with leading lifestyle channel Discovery.

The first fruit in the UK of the new venture - being run through Fox International Channels - will be Pretty Simple, an online "how to" video site, modelled on Bien Simple, an existing Fox video website available in Latin America. It will launch before the end of the year.

Fox Essentials already includes the channels Real Estate TV and Baby TV. Alon Shtruzman, general manager of Fox Vertical Channels, which includes Fox Essentials, said: "In the next two years, we will develop or acquire another six [channels]."

Fox International Channels' existing presence extends largely to factual content and entertainment, such as National Geographic Channel and FX. However, the company wants to expand into lifestyle content.

Featuring lifestyle subjects such as cooking, health, technology, home, relationships and cars, Pretty Simple will offer both professional and user-generated content.

The UK launch will take Fox into competition with VideoJug, the online video service launched this year by former Hearst Digital managing director Nancy Cruickshank.

"Content for Pretty Simple will come from a range of suppliers," added Shtruzman.

"We will use Fox content and lean on other News Corp assets and we can dub Spanish language content [used on Bien Simple]. And we will acquire content. We are talking to some independent producers."

Pretty Simple will carry video pre-roll ads and display ads. FIC will utilise .Fox Networks, the News Corporation global ad network set up last year, for contextual and display ads and will use Utarget, in which FIC acquired a majority stake in April, for video ads.

Source: Media Week