Ross Levinsohn, who is resigning as president of Fox Interactive Media, will be replaced by his cousin Peter Levinsohn.
News of the change, which will become effective November 27, was officially announced Friday by Peter Chernin, president and CEO of News Corp., the parent company of Fox. Ross Levinsohn also posted an announcement on his MySpace page.
"So, as some of you may have read or heard, I'm leaving Fox. Where better to post than here. Stay tuned to what's next. It's been an awesome two years building Fox Interactive Media, and the company is in great shape for the future. There is a whole world out there to explore," Ross Levinsohn wrote in his post.
Levinsohn, who is 43, is credited with helping to negotiate the MySpace deal, in which News Corp. purchased the social-networking site for about US$580 million.
MySpace has grown to 67 million users since 2004, according to the company. As of late, however, the site has been criticized by those who say it has become a forum for child predators. Levinsohn has publicly defended MySpace, noting to the press that the site monitors and removes content it deems offensive, including racist comments and nudity.
Peter Levinsohn, who is 40, has been president of the digital media arm of Fox Entertainment Group since 2004. He is credited with the development of revenue sharing deals with Fox affiliates, in order to make prime time shows available on affiliate Web sites and on MySpace.
The soon-to-be Fox Interactive Media president is also credited with negotiating Fox's on-demand film and television distribution deals with Apple Computer's iTunes, Time Warner's AOL and Microsoft, among others.
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