FOX Corp topped Wall Street expectations for quarterly profit and reported a rise in revenue on Tuesday (Aug 6), helped by steady demand for its Tubi streaming service in the US, sending its shares up nearly 5 per cent in early trading.
The company’s revenue for the quarter was helped by a 5 per cent rise in affiliate fee, driven by growth across television and cable network programming segments.
Fox’s cable-network programming business, which includes Fox Business Network, Fox Sports 1 and Fox News, logged a 2 per cent rise in revenue to US$1.44 billion in the fourth quarter.
The company’s total revenue also gained 2 per cent to US$3.09 billion, but it was slightly below analysts’ estimates of US$3.10 billion, according to LSEG.
Fox continues to see momentum in viewership at Tubi, its free ad-supported TV and movie streaming service, CEO Lachlan Murdoch said on a post-earnings call.
Advertising revenue was flat year over year and came in at US$1.01 billion in the fourth quarter.
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After grappling with muted ad spending, televisions networks in the US like Fox News stand to win this year from political advertising for the presidential election.
Total political ad spend in the country this year is expected to rise about 27 per cent from 2020 to US$12.15 billion, according to a report by research firm eMarketer.
On an adjusted basis, the company earned 90 cents per share, compared with estimates of 81 cents.
Venu Sports, Fox’s sports streaming joint venture with Disney and Warner Bros Discovery, is set to launch this fall in the US at US$42.99 per month. REUTERS
