<Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article needs to be updated . Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information . (February 2017) </Td> </Tr> <P> The Fox News Channel (FNC) is an American basic cable and satellite news television channel that was founded by media mogul Rupert Murdoch in 1996 . Murdoch appointed Roger Ailes as permanent CEO of the news operation . FNC (along with MSNBC) was created as an alternative to CNN . In January 2002, the ratings of the channel surpassed top - rated CNN to become the #1 news cable channel . The network has since maintained its #1 cable rating, with increasing viewership and international access helping it become a subject of controversy . </P> <P> The channel was created by Australian - born American media mogul Rupert Murdoch, who hired Roger Ailes as its founding CEO . The channel was launched on October 7, 1996 to 17 million cable subscribers . Prior to founding Fox News, Murdoch had gained significant experience in the 24 - hour news business when News Corporation's BSkyB subsidiary started Europe's first 24 - hour news channel, Sky News, in the United Kingdom in 1989 . With the success of his fourth network efforts in the United States, experience gained from Sky News, and turnaround of 20th Century Fox, Murdoch announced on January 31, 1996, that his company would be launching a 24 - hour news channel to air on both cable and satellite systems as part of a News Corp. "worldwide platform" for Fox programming, reasoning that "The appetite for news--particularly news that explains to people how it affects them--is expanding enormously ." </P> <P> In February 1996, after former NBC executive and Republican political strategist Roger Ailes left America's Talking (now MSNBC), Murdoch called him to start the Fox News Channel . Ailes worked individuals through five months of 14 - hour workdays and several weeks of rehearsal shows before launch, on October 7, 1996 . </P>

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