Twenty-First Century Fox Inc. on Wednesday reported $8.22 billion of total revenue for the three months ending March 31, an $866 million or 12% increase over the $7.35 billion of revenue reported in the prior year quarter.
The growth in revenue was driven by a $338 million increase at the television segment, led by the broadcast of Super Bowl XLVIII, and a $325 million or 11% increase at the cable network programming segment, led by continued global affiliate revenue growth.
The television segment reported a 27% increase in revenue to $1.59 billion that was driven by increased advertising revenue and continued growth of retransmission consent revenues.
Quarterly advertising revenues grew 30% from the corresponding period of the prior year driven by the broadcast of Super Bowl XLVIII and higher rates and ratings for the National Football League playoffs, partially offset by the impact from lower general entertainment ratings, led by declines at American Idol.
The segment results also included higher costs associated with the broadcast of Super Bowl XLVIII and higher scripted programming and marketing costs.
Revenue from its cable network programming increased 11% to $1.17 billion. This revenue growth was partially offset by a 12% increase in expenses, more than half of which reflects the planned investments related to the launches of new channels, including Fox Sports 1, STAR Sports and FXX. Segment OIBDA growth was also adversely impacted by 4% from foreign exchange rate fluctuations.
Commenting on the results, Chairman-CEO Rupert Murdoch said: “We delivered strong results in the fiscal third quarter with double-digit revenue and earnings growth led by sustained gains in affiliate fees at our cable networks. The sizeable audiences of our live television events, led by the most watched Super Bowl in history, underscore the value of our investments in live sports programming, both in the US and internationally. This quarter’s continued solid operational and financial performance demonstrates the global leadership of our businesses and the long-term value we are creating for our shareholders.”
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