After months of talks, Fox has finalized a plan to let its affiliates shift the network's afternoon kid's programming block up one hour - to 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. - from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. The shift will take effect this fall.
Sources also say that the network has told stations that when Fox Family Worldwide gets sold (it's currently on the block) the network will jettison the kid's block altogether. That would come as welcome news to affiliates because the kids business is terrible and does not flow well with the rest of their schedules, targeted to adult audiences. But if the kid's block does go away, Fox still has the option to program the time period for the next eight years. Network officials have confirmed they want to develop adult programming for it down the road.- Steve McClellan
