A Foxy Move by Fox? : Television: Fox is airing a special on the making of 20th Century Fox’s ‘Home Alone 2.’

If you’re wondering what television outlet will toot the loudest horn for the 20th Century Fox film “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” just remember one word.

Fox.

Fox Broadcasting, a division of 20th Century Fox, is serving up a half-hour, behind-the-scenes special at 7 p.m. Sunday on the making of the sequel, which the studio will unveil Friday as its main holiday season release.

The scheduling of the special in a prime-time slot just days before the film’s opening has raised a few eyebrows among industry insiders who feel Fox is being a little foxy by using its television broadcasting arm to promote its film.

“Yeah, it does sound a little funny when you think about it, doesn’t it?” said an official at a competing studio who asked not to be identified.

After all, no one--even at Fox Broadcasting--could recall the last time that Fox devoted a half-hour of prime time to hyping another studio’s film in a behind-the-scenes special.

Fox Broadcasting officials denied that airing of the program presented or might appear to be a conflict-of-interest.

“The last thing that ‘Home Alone 2’ needs is more promotion,” Sandy Grushow, vice president of the Fox Entertainment Group, said in a statement. “We at the Fox Broadcasting Co. are in the business of entertaining our audiences. ‘Home Alone 2,’ needless to say, is a highly anticipated picture, and we are thrilled to be able to satisfy our audience by bringing them a small taste of this picture prior to its premiere.”

“Home Alone 2” chronicles the further adventures of Kevin (Macaulay Culkin), the plucky youngster who was accidentally left home by his parents in 1990 when they departed for a Christmas vacation in Paris. This time, Kevin finds himself alone again, only now he’s wandering around New York City while being pursued by the same bumbling crooks (Daniel Stern and Joe Pesci) he thwarted in the first film.

The Fox special features footage of the film crew happily filming around crowded New York streets, and there are interviews with the cast and the filmmakers about how good they think the film is.

Studios using television as a promotional tool is nothing new. Disney has done it for decades with network programs, its pay-TV channel and the Los Angeles TV station it owns, KCAL-TV Channel 9. HBO airs behind-the-scenes movie specials prepared by Warner Bros.; both are owned by Time Warner. When CBS broadcasts MCA/Universal’s “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial” this Thanksgiving, the film will be preceded by a behind-the-scenes preview of the studio’s upcoming “Jurassic Park.”

Fox Broadcasting officials insisted, however, that they were not plugging “Home Alone” just because it is a 20th Century Fox film. They added that they are in negotiations with other studios about airing their behind-the-scenes specials--but they declined to provide specifics.

In any case, they certainly haven’t given the “Home Alone” promo a great time slot: It’s on opposite the ratings powerhouse “60 Minutes.”