Fox station Web sites to be centrally managed

The Web sites of 160 Fox TV affiliates are soon to be centrally managed by Fox Interactive Media, the group that manages MySpace.com and IGN Entertainment.

News Corp. said last week that its online production group would take over management of the local TV sites and adapt them to the MyFox platform and branding. The change does not include some of the largest owners of Fox affiliates, including Sinclair Broadcast Group, which “Variety” reported is still evaluating whether to outsource its online operations.

Last summer, Fox Interactive Media took over management of News Corp.’s 24 owned Fox affiliates to handle streaming of Fox programming on the sites and to standardize their look and feel.

The MyFox platform will offer programming and news, and provide a common technical backbone for each local affiliate site.

Fox did not disclose financial terms for the MyFox Web platform deals. However, in earlier Internet video deals with its affiliates, Media Daily News reported, Fox stations receive 12.5 percent of all advertising and user fee revenues in their specific market — if a prime-time show runs on digital screens after its network play.