Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch noted reinvigorated ratings and share growth at Fox News last quarter and said the company is looking at major momentum at the cable news network and at Fox TV stations heading into a newly heated election cycle.
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Fox this morning posted a mixed fiscal fourth quarter with total sales of $3.09 billion for the three months ended in June, up 2% from the year before and about in line with Wall Street estimates. Ad revenue was flat as gains at Fox Sports and Tubi were offset by a dip at the Fox Network.
“Tubi continues to go from strength to strength,” Murdoch said on a call after the numbers. Fox Sports cleaned up with Summer of Soccer , including the broadcasts of the UEFA European Championship and Copa América . Sports will see a bump from the Super Bowl in fiscal 2025 — the first under its new NFL contract.
Sports also ruled the upfront, Murdoch said, which Fox recently concluded with both pricing and volume increases in the annual dance with advertisers.
“We came through the upfront above our expectations,” he said, thanks in large part to football and Major League Baseball. Fox News saw volume increases (coupled with ratings increases). He was also upbeat on the direct response marketplace, up in the high teens in terms of pricing.
On political, he expects “a record cycle” for Fox — excluding the Georgia runoff four years ago (where Democrat Jon Ossoff defeated incumbent Republican Senator David Perdue).
Fox quarterly net income of $320 million fell from $369 million the year earlier, including a change in the fair value of company investments, it said. EPS was 68 cents a share from 74 cents. Adjusted EPS was 90 cents vs. 88 cents, above expectations.
The shares are up more than 5% in morning trade.
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Fox said affiliate fee revenues increased 5%, driven by 9% growth at its television segment and 2% growth at cable network programming. “Other” revenues of $226 million fell from $253 million reported in the prior year quarter, primarily due to a lower volume of third-party content sales.
“Fiscal 2024 was another successful year for FOX with very clear achievements across our portfolio, including delivering strong total company affiliate revenue growth each quarter from our ongoing renewals, cementing Tubi’s position as the most watched free TV and movie streaming service in the United States, and generating reinvigorated ratings and share growth at FOX News,” said Murdoch.
“We now carry this momentum into another major event cycle with fiscal 2025 featuring the Presidential Election and Super Bowl. The soundness of our strategy, the consistency of our delivery and the strength of our financial position have never distinguished us more and underpin our confidence in the future at FOX and in delivering shareholder value.”
The numbers hit at an interesting moment for the company on a few fronts. As noted, the presidential race is set to boost political advertising and buoy ratings into the fall, by a lot. Kamala Harris entering the race for the Dems seems to have scrambled the Republican campaign of former president Donald Trump . Murdoch said today that new contour of the race could result in even more political dollars flowing to stations in certain markets. “As the race heats up we are seeing more money flow into the marketplace, and new marketplaces are emerging as the races tightens. For instance, Atlanta and Phoenix, where there is a significant amount of money being placed only in the last couple of weeks.”
Fox and its partners Disney/ESPN and Warner Bros. Discovery now have a name and price for their news sports streaming JV. Venu Sports will launch this fall at $43.99 a month. Streaming rival Fubo is in a New York Court this morning, challenging the new bundle. There was’t much new Venu talk on the call. Venu’s business plan anticipates 5 million subscribers over five years focused on cord cutters and “cord nevers.”
Meanwhile, a behind- the-scenes family battle is playing out in a Nevada probate court. Patriarch Rupert Murdoch is trying to settle succession and had Lachlan control of the family business, alienating his three other children, who were promised a vote in a so-called irrevocable trust that he’s trying to undo in probate court. The outcome of the fight could determine the future of the profitable Conservative juggernaut of Fox News. He was not asked about and did not comment on that.
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