Editing Metromedia (section)

===1985-86 divestitures===
On May 4, 1985, Kluge announced the sale of Metromedia's television stations, and Metromedia Producers Corp., to [[News Corporation (1980–2013)|News Corporation]] (owned by Australian newspaper publisher [[Rupert Murdoch]]) and [[20th Century Fox|20th Century Fox Film Corporation]] (owned jointly by Murdoch and [[Marvin Davis]]) for $3.5 billion. With the exception of WCVB-TV (which was subsequently sold to the [[Hearst Corporation]]), all of the former Metromedia stations formed the nucleus of the [[Fox Broadcasting Company]] (which began operations on October 9, 1986), while MPC was folded into [[20th Century Fox Television]]. The transactions became official on March 6, 1986.<ref>Cole, Robert J.. "Murdoch to buy & TV stations; cost $2 billion." ''The New York Times'', May 7, 1985.</ref><ref>{{Cite episode |title=Rupert Murdoch buys Metromedia |series=The 10 O'Clock News |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IgwfnUG3cM&t=19s  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/4IgwfnUG3cM| archive-date=December 12, 2021 |url-status=live|access-date=November 5, 2017 |station=WNEW-TV |location=New York, NY |date=May 4, 1985 |minutes=00:00 |language=en}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Because of these transactions, and the fact that Metromedia was originally spun off from the DuMont Television Network, radio personality [[Clarke Ingram]] has suggested that the Fox network is a revival or at least a linear descendant of DuMont.<ref>{{cite web|title=The DuMont Television Network: Channel Nine|url=https://dumonthistory.com/9.html|author=Clarke Ingram|author-link=Clarke Ingram|website=Dumont History}}</ref>

Kluge also sold Metromedia's outdoor advertising firm, the Harlem Globetrotters, and the Ice Capades in 1985, its cellular phone and yellow pages divisions to the [[AT&T|Southwestern Bell Corporation]] (now known as the second incarnation of AT&T,  due to SBC's acquisition of [[AT&T Corporation]] in 2005) under the leadership of Zane Barnes,  Robert G. Pope, and J.B. Ellis. They also spun off the radio stations into a separate company (which took on the Metropolitan Broadcasting name)<ref>Stevenson, Richard W. "Metromedia ad business sale". ''The New York Times'', January 21, 1986.</ref><ref>Fabrikant, Geraldine. "Metromedia set to sell Globetrotters, ice show." ''The New York Times'', March 5, 1986.</ref><ref>"Metromedia, Katz radio groups sold in LBO's." ''Broadcasting'', March 31, 1986, pp. 33-34. [http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-IDX/86-OCR/BC-1986-03-31-Page-0033.pdf]{{dead link|date=September 2017|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}[http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-IDX/86-OCR/BC-1986-03-31-Page-0034.pdf]{{dead link|date=September 2017|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref><ref>[http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-IDX/86-OCR/BC-1986-11-17-Page-0120.pdf "In brief." ''Broadcasting'', November 17, 1986, pg. 120]{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>{{Citation needed|date=April 2020}} before they were sold to various other owners by the early 1990s.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-07-01-fi-773-story.html|title=Metromedia Will Sell Its Cellular Units|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=July 1, 1986|accessdate=November 23, 2022}}</ref>