CKx Now CORE

With former CEO Robert F.X. Sillerman no longer in charge, there’s no need to keep the name of the company. Thus, CKx is now known as CORE Media Group.

Sillerman was the deep pockets behind SFX, a play on his initials and the predecessor to Live Nation. When he got back in the game in the past decade, he took a penny-stock company, turned it into CKx and proceeded to become the manager for the images and likenesses of Elvis Presley and Mohammed Ali. Along the way, he bought 19 Entertainment, home to the worldwide “Idol” franchise.

Stockholders have since bought out Sillerman, who has moved on to create a company called Function (x) that produced an iPhone app called Viggle. Meanwhile, president Marc Graboff, who joined CKx earlier this year, has announced the name change.

“With an increasing demand for original programming on traditional broadcast and cable television, as well as the proliferation of digital distribution platforms with their own original content needs, there has never been a better time to be a creator and owner of content,” Graboff said.

CORE’s portfolio, through 19 Entertainment, includes “Idol,” “So You Think You Can Dance” and long-term recording agreements with “Idol” contestants like Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Chris Daughtry, Adam Lambert and Scotty McCreery. It also has management agreements with “Idol” acts like Phillip Phillips and Jessica Sanchez.

CORE Media Group has offices in New York, Los Angeles and Memphis.