Fox scores strong results as World Cup broadcasts draw in advertisers
Last year’s men’s world cup helped Murdoch-owned media giant Fox increase revenues by four per cent.
The broadcaster said revenue in the final quarter of 2022 was up to $4.61bn (£3.82bn) from $4.44bn (£3.68bn) in the same quarter in 2021.
The FIFA World Cup which took place in Doha in December pulled the majority of the weight in lifting advertising revenues up five per cent to $98m from the same period in the previous year.
Executive chair and chief executive Lachlan Murdoch said Fox’s “compelling” sports schedule and busy political news cycle, showed the “power and relevance” of the media company.
“Whether measured in terms of engagement, monetization or profitability, our focused strategy of live news and sports programming, coupled with our growing digital initiatives, continues to deliver”, the junior Murdoch said.
Tubi, the free ad-supported streaming platform, was partially to thank for the spike in ad sales too. Fox acquired Tubi for $440m in 2020 and the analyst firm MoffettNathanson, forecasts it will generate $1bn in 2023.
Other streams including Fox’s television segment and the Fox Nation subscription service also boosted revenues up 13 per cent.
The World Cup did increased Fox expenses though, despite them being down overall.
Murdoch added that Fox’s $3bn increase of share buyback to a total authorisation of $7bn shows they are optimistic about their strategy, quality of assets and the strength of their financial position.
While the ad market experienced a downturn towards the end of last year, Fox was one of few companies to post promising results.
This comes as Rupert Murdoch recently abandoned an attempt to merge Fox and News Corp after shareholders expressed their lack of confidence in a reunion of the two media companies, which Murdoch himself separated in 2013.