Disney has announced that it will be rebranding 20th Century Fox Television as 20th Television, removing the "Century" and the "Fox" from the studio's name.
The rebranding of 20th Century Fox Television follows the decision of Disney in January to drop the Fox name from its 20th Century Fox film brand and call it just 20th Century Studios.
In 2019, Disney agreed to acquire many of Fox's assets for $71 billion.
20th Century Fox was established in 1935 thru a merger between Twentieth Century Pictures and Fox Films. Its logo and recognizable music have been associated by many people to the movie experience.
The film studio produced some of the most popular and beloved films in Hollywood history, including "Star Wars," "The Sound of Music," "Die Hard" and "Home Alone." Its television counterpart also produced hit shows like "The Simpsons" and "Modern Family."
Rebranding decisions
The move will entail a new logo and graphics that will appear on new episodes of 20th Television TV series starting this fall. However, older shows that have already aired prior to the rebrand will maintain the former logo and name.
Disney's initiative to remove Fox from all of its studios is understandable as consumers could get confused. The entertainment giant has nothing to do with Fox's remaining assets, including Fox Entertainment, Fox Sports and Fox News, which are part of Fox Corporation.
Other rebranding initiatives by Disney for its other TV studios include changing ABC Studios and ABC Signature Studios to ABC Signature and renaming Fox 21 Television Studios to Touchstone Television.
Disney television studios president Craig Hunegs said: "Our new studio names and logos mark a new day for ABC Signature, 20th Television and Touchstone Television while honoring their rich histories and the creative power of The Walt Disney Company."
Losses and focus on streaming service
Disney plans to focus on its Disney+ streaming site and launch a new streaming service outside the US after it reported losses due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In the three months to June 27, Disney reported losses of $4.7 billion as it was forced to shut down its theme parks and delay film releases and production. In the same period last year, the company posted a profit of nearly $1.8 billion.
In late June, Disneyland was forced to postpone the reopening of its California-based theme parks as they wait for state guidelines on theme park reopening.
“Given the time required for us to bring thousands of cast members back to work and restart our business, we have no choice but to delay the reopening of our theme parks and resort hotels until we receive approval from government officials,” the company said in a statement.
In order to counter the disruption caused by the pandemic, Disney is pushing plans to expand its streaming service as it tries to position itself as a competitor of Netflix, Amazon and other streaming sites.
After launching its Disney+ streaming service in the US last November and expanding into other markets, Disney said it now has more than 100 million subscribers across its on-demand sites, including ESPN+, Hulu, and the Hotstar streaming service in India.
According to company executives, the new international service to be launched will be somewhat similar to Hulu but will build on the recognition of the Star name outside of the US.
It will feature content from the wider Disney umbrella, which includes ABC, 20th Century Films and SearchLight Pictures.