Fox to launch national morning show in ’07

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Fox Television Stations and Twentieth
Television on Tuesday said they plan to launch a national
morning show on its owned-and-operated stations by January 2007
to compete against the top three U.S. TV networks.

The show will be broadcast live from New York and feature
entertainment and general programming and will be hosted by
Mike Jerrick and Juliet Huddy of Fox News Channel’s “DaySide”
program.

The unnamed show will air from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. in most
markets, the News Corp.-owned companies said.

U.S. morning broadcast television is led by NBC’s top-rated
“Today” show, although the defection of its co-host Katie
Couric to rival CBS to anchor the evening news broadcast, could
open the door to more competition.

Fox Television Stations broadcast group has 35 TV stations
in 26 markets covering about 45 percent of U.S. homes.