Sandy Grushow to Become President of Fox TV

Sandy Grushow will become on Monday president of 20th Century Fox Television, the TV production arm of the major Hollywood studio.

Grushow, who is stepping down as president of the shrinking Tele-TV telephone joint venture, is no stranger to the Fox family, serving as president of Fox Entertainment Group, where he oversaw programming and scheduling of the Fox broadcast network before joining Tele-TV in late 1995.

Although terms of his severance package were not disclosed, sources say it is lucrative because Grushow had an estimated $13 million and nearly three years remaining on his contract with Tele-TV.

Grushow succeeds Peter Roth, who became head of Fox Entertainment Group last year. Although the production arm has ratcheted up dramatic hits such as “The X-Files” and “Chicago Hope,” it has failed to come up with any big comedies since “The Simpsons” in the 1980s. Comedies reap big money in syndication.

Grushow said his goal is to make the unit the No. 1 supplier of prime-time television shows, a spot now fought over by Warner Bros. and Sony.

Grushow will report directly to Peter Chernin, president and chief operating officer of Fox parent News Corp. and chairman and chief executive of Fox Group.