<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> 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>
when did fox news go on the air
when did fox news go on the air
October 7 , 1996
October 7 , 1996