Fox plans to devote new channel to reality TV

Fox has tested the limits of reality TV with shows ranging from “The Simple Life” and “Joe Millionaire” to “Celebrity Boxing “and “When Animals Attack.” Now fans will be able to relive them on an all-reality cable channel.

Fox Networks Group will launch the Fox Reality Channel early next year. It is likely the first of several new cable and satellite TV channels coming from the News Corp.’s media empire, which last year also took over DirecTV, the nation’s No. 1 satellite TV service.

Other possibilities: a Fox business channel to compete with NBC Universal’s CNBC and an entertainment channel to go head-to-head with Comcast’s E!, as well as Hispanic and weather channels.

Fox Reality will target young adults with reruns and new shows from the United States and overseas. Video-on-demand and interactive features are planned. Still up in the air: whether it will be cleared to air Fox’s hit “American Idol.”

Fox has pushed the limits of kitsch and good taste with some of its reality shows, so the fledgling channel will have plenty of material to choose from. Among possible offerings: romance shows such as “Joe Millionaire,” “Temptation Island” and “Love Cruise,” and cops-and-robbers specials such as “World’s Wildest Police Videos.”