Fox exec announces his departure on MySpace

MySpace executive Ross Levinsohn to be replaced by his cousin, digital media chief of Fox Entertainment Group.

Candace Lombardi

In a software-driven world, it's easy to forget about the nuts and bolts. Whether it's cars, robots, personal gadgetry or industrial machines, Candace Lombardi examines the moving parts that keep our world rotating. A journalist who divides her time between the United States and the United Kingdom, Lombardi has written about technology for the sites of The New York Times, CNET, USA Today, MSN, ZDNet, Silicon.com, and GameSpot. She is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not a current employee of CNET.

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Candace Lombardi

Nov. 17, 2006 1:07 p.m. PT

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 "="" data-asset-type="article" data-uuid="d570623a-fee0-11e4-bddd-d4ae52e62bcc" data-slug="myspace-growth-continues-amid-criticism" data-link-text="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.