Joe Earley to step down as COO of Fox Television Group

Longtime Fox executive Joe Earley is stepping down from his post as chief operating officer of Fox Television Group, which includes the 20th Century Fox Television Studio and the Fox Broadcasting network.

Earley is set to leave the company at the end of the year.

His departure is noteworthy because it represents a changing of the guard under Fox Television Group heads Dana Walden and Gary Newman.

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Fox Television Group consolidated in summer 2014 under Walden and Newman, putting together the TV studio and the network, which had previously operated as separate divisions. The consolidation, which occurred after network entertainment chief Kevin Reilly left the company, also changed the role that Earley had filled at the network.

Until then, Earley had been the No. 2 at Fox Broadcasting and steadily took on additional responsibilities, including oversight of the network’s development and programming. He helped launch such series as “Sleepy Hollow” and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine.”

When Newman and Walden stepped in, Earley became chief operating officer and worked to try to integrate the two separate divisions.

Earley started working at Fox more than 20 years ago as a senior publicist.

In a statement announcing his exit, Earley indicated his current role and duties had pulled him away from “the creative process.”

“All of this new opportunity, however, as rewarding as it is, has led me further and further from the creative process, which is really where my heart wants to be,” he said. “So, while I will miss my extended FOX family terribly, it is time for me to pursue the proverbial ‘next chapter.’ As a former publicist, I thought I would never use that phrase, but it turns out that sometimes it’s true.”

Before joining Fox in 1994, Earley spent seveal years in the the media department at HBO. The Chicago native began his entertainment career in production and development with producer Gale Anne Hurd.

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