National Geographic Eyes HBO in Makeover by Murdochs

Bloomberg Businessweek: While some observers are still concerned that the Murdochs will drag the National Geographic brand down-market, the TV network is undergoing a radical makeover in the opposite direction. 21st Century Fox is investing hundreds of millions of dollars to reinvent it as a more highbrow destination — a kind of HBO for science and adventure programming. National Geographic’s ambitions are likely to put the network on a crash course not only with Discovery, but also with HBO, Netflix, and Amazon.