Variety: Political Ads, Soccer Drive Q1 Fox Profit

Story from Variety:

A surge in ad revenue tied to the coming 2024 presidential election and to a summer filled with soccer broadcasts boosted results in Fox Corp’s first fiscal quarter.

The owner of the Fox broadcast network, Fox Sports and Fox News Media said net income attributable to Fox Corporation stockholders came to $827 million, or $1.78 per share in the period, compared to $407 million, or 82 cents a share in the year-earlier quarter. Revenue rose 11%, or $357 million, to $3.56 billion, compared with nearly $3.21 billion a year earlier.

Lachlan Murdoch, CEO of Fox Corp., in a statement cited factors including “strong audience growth at Fox News, record political advertising across the company, accelerating revenue growth at Tubi and a compelling start to our fall sports calendar.”

Fox Corp. appears to be seeing fewer headwinds in its business than larger rivals. The company has re-organized itself following a sales of its entertainment-focused studios and cable networks to Disney, and has focused on sports and its Fox News business, as well as its free-to-view Tubi streaming service. To be sure, its reliance on political advertising may make the year ahead more challenging, as money typically swells in an election year.

Revenue in the company’s largest segment, traditional TV broadcasting, rose 10%, or $173 million, buoyed by an increase in ad sales of $98 million tied to higher political advertising revenue at the company’s local stations. 6-Fox also cited broadcasts of the UEFA European Championship and CONMEBOL Copa América and higher ratings for its Sunday NFL showcase. Affiliate fees rose 10%.

Revenue at the company’s cable operations rose $210 million, or 15%, boosted by a $32 million increase in affiliate fees and $31 million in advertising. Fox cited contractual price increases and higher ratings and higher revenue from direct-response and digital advertising.