COMPANY TOWN

TV: Fox Broadcasting Co. and Saban Entertainment Inc. have formed an alliance to develop children’s television services worldwide. The joint venture will use the combined libraries and distribution of both companies to launch channels overseas, presenting a challenge to Viacom Inc.’s Nickelodeon, which has made inroads in overseas children’s programming. Among Saban’s biggest hits are “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” and “X-Men,” both of which air on the Fox Children’s Network. Along with Nickelodeon, Fox--which airs weekdays and Saturdays--dominates children’s TV. For Fox, the alliance with Saban helps secure programming at a time when shifts in the competitive landscape threaten its dominance. Warner Bros., a mainstay supplier to Fox, has started to keep its kids’ shows for its own WB network, and it will also benefit from the vast cartoon libraries Time Warner Inc. will acquire in the planned purchase of Turner Broadcasting Systems Inc. Meanwhile, ABC is expected to become a more formidable competitor with product supplied by its new owner, Walt Disney Co. Saban is thought to have been seeking a buyer or a public offering before its fortunes changed with the Power Rangers success. Several television sources said the alliance could be a precursor to a purchase by Fox of Saban, which is the last of the independent cartoon factories.