Fox is outsourcing the sales of a new long-form ad block, Weekend Marketplace, to WorldLink.
Starting Jan. 3, Fox is supplanting its four-hour 4KidsTV block with a for-cash block of infomercials and direct response advertising from 10 a.m. - noon, with affiliates getting 8-10 a.m. to program and sell for themsevles. Fox will get the revenue from the ad block.
.The block will run on most of Fox's 200-plus affiliated stations (a source put the number at north of 90%)..
WorldLink has partnered with Fox's various divisions on long-form sales for over a decade, so the choice is not a big surprise.
4Kids announced last month that it would be ending its programming relationship with Fox at the end of December after it sued to get out of the deal, arguing the block was not getting sufficient clearances, according to Fox. kKids had been leasing the four hours, with Fox getting money and 4Kids getting to sell the national ad time in the shows.
This fall, 4Kids began programming a five-hour kids block on The CW.
