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The Australian Financial Review - Media and Marketing

News Corp puts Foxtel up for sale after asset review

By Sam Buckingham-Jones

August 9, 2024

News Corp, the publishing and broadcast giant controlled by the Murdoch family, has put its majority-owned Australian pay television platform Foxtel up for sale after a nine-month strategic review of its assets.

Outlining its financial results on Friday, News Corp said there was “third-party interest” in Foxtel, which owns a pay TV business, streaming services Binge and Kayo Sports, and aggregation platform Hubbl.

“We are confident in the company’s long-term prospects and are continuing to review our portfolio with a focus on maximising returns for shareholders,” News Corp chief executive Robert Thomson said.

“That review has coincided recently with third-party interest in a potential transaction involving the Foxtel ... We are evaluating options for the business with our advisors in light of that external interest.”

News Corp owns 65 per cent of Foxtel, and Telstra owns the rest.

Foxtel has spent the past decade pivoting to the streaming era, building Kayo and Binge – which have much leaner profit margins – while preserving its legacy base of around 1 million subscribers who pay, on average, $90 a month. It has grown its total paying subscription base to 4.7 million people.

Any sale of Foxtel would have a flow-on effect on long-term content deals, multi-billion dollar sports rights packages, and more.

Mr Thomson told analysts that News Corp had a “significant overture that we are naturally assessing”, but declined to provide further details.

“We have full faith in the potential of Foxtel and the talented team at Foxtel,” he said. “On behalf of shareholders, we have to evaluate any interest … You’ll have to stay tuned. Not indefinitely, not perpetually, not ad infinitum.” (Credit: The Australian Financial Review) @FinancialReview

Full article via subscription to The Australian Financial Review

https://www.afr.com/companies/media-and-marketing/news-corp-puts-foxtel-up-for-sale-20240809-p5k0yv

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News Corporation (abbreviated to News Corp) (NYSE: NWS) is one of the world's largest media conglomerates. Its chief executive officer is Rupert Murdoch, who created the Fox Broadcasting Company in 1986.

News Corporation is a public company listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX: NWS) and as a secondary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE: NCRA). Formerly incorporated in Adelaide, Australia, the company was re-incorporated in the United States state of Delaware after a majority of shareholders approved the move on 12 November 2004.

News Corporation's headquarters is on Sixth Avenue (Avenue of the Americas) in New York City, in the 1960s-1970s portion of the Rockefeller Center complex.

Revenue for the year ended 30 June 2005 was $23.859 billion. This does not include News Corporation's share of the revenue of businesses in which it owns a minority stake, which include two of its most important assets, DirecTV and BSkyB. Almost 70% of the company's sales come from its US businesses. Credit: Wikipedia.

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FOX TO LAUNCH MY NETWORK TV

New Station-Friendly Primetime Option Set for September

Primetime Dramas “Desire” and “Secrets” to Inaugurate My Network TV Debut

NEW YORK – February 22, 2006 - FOX will launch My Network TV, a new primetime program network scheduled to debut this fall. Fox Television Stations, Inc., and Twentieth Television will operate the new venture. The announcement was made today at a press conference in New York by Peter Chernin, President and Chief Operating Officer, News Corporation; Roger Ailes, Chairman of Fox Television Stations; and Jack Abernethy, CEO of Fox Television Stations.

Upon launching on Tuesday, September 5th, 2006, My Network TV will feature quality primetime programming from 8:00-10:00pm (EST/PST) Monday through Saturday, totaling 12 hours of original content per week. Providing broadcasters a viable and station-friendly option for primetime, involving no reverse compensation, My Network TV will position stations with operational flexibility through an appealing affiliation term and attractive inventory split, further building asset value.

Fox Television Stations’ WWOR/New York, KCOP/Los Angeles, WPWR/Chicago, KDFI/Dallas, WDCA/Washington, D.C., KTXH/Houston, WFTC/Minneapolis, KUTP/Phoenix, WRBW/ Orlando and WUTB/Baltimore will serve as anchor affiliates of My Network TV, representing 24% of the United States. Supported with powerful branding and marketing initiatives that tie-in locally, the service will maintain and strengthen affiliates’ community brand recognition with a complete look and feel of a national network that empowers localism.

Regarding the announcement, Mr. Chernin stated, “No other media company comes close to Fox when it comes to launching new networks and gauging audience appetites. Over the past 20 years, we’ve proved it time and again with FBC, FX, Fox News Channel and National Geographic Channel among many others. And with My Network TV, we think we’ve come up with a unique format that will resonate with today’s consumer and a model that can be profitable from day one.”

Mr. Ailes added, “Backed by the strongest media company in the world, My Network TV is a viable alternative brought to you by proven winners who know quality programming. Independent stations are in need of a solid option for primetime and we believe no other company is providing this service to the market.”

Commented Mr. Abernethy, “We’re thrilled to be launching My Network TV this fall. We consider this to be a station-friendly alternative that will deliver more local inventory to its affiliates, uphold each station’s localism and feature quality programming supported by strong branding and marketing. We are looking forward to signing additional affiliates in the coming weeks.”

Twentieth Television’s new hour-long scripted dramas “Desire” and “Secrets” will inaugurate My Network TV. Structured in a 65-episode story arc stripped Monday through Friday for 13 weeks, “Desire” and “Secrets” are based on the worldwide success of the telenovela format. “Desire” chronicles the destruction of a family and the bonds of brotherhood take center stage when two brothers on the run from the mafia find themselves in a heated battle of passion, betrayal, deceit and murder over the woman they both love. “Secrets” goes deep behind-the-scenes to focus on the glamorous, yet sometimes brutally ruthless fashion industry, in which greed, lust and blind ambition surround a violent corporate takeover of the business’ hottest company. Principal photography on the dramas will commence early March.

Twentieth Television is aggressively developing additional programs and proven formats spanning reality, drama, comedy, game, news, movies and talk for My Network TV as the network develops, while also exploring opportunities with its sister companies. The company is opening its doors to all other major Hollywood studios to negotiate future programming concepts. Programs currently in development include:

• “Catwalk” (Twentieth Television) -- The ultimate search for the next “It” supermodel begins by crossing the country to discover 30 of the hottest, hippest and freshest faces who will compete for the once in a lifetime opportunity to be catapulted into stardom.

• “Celebrity Love Island” [Granada (“Nanny 911”)] -- Six gorgeous celebrity and six non-celebrity singletons are thrown together in a fantasy island setting, where a star-studded search for love takes place.

• “On Scene” (Fox News) -- This crime investigative series will cover all angles, examine all of the evidence and trace every single clue of the most compelling crimes committed today.

• “America’s Brainiest” (working title) [Celador (“Who Wants to Be A Millionaire”)] -- This quiz show, based on the hit British program, will find the country’s smartest individuals and reveal them in an exciting format.

• In addition, Twentieth Television is in advanced negotiations with FremantleMedia North America (“American Idol”) on an international format.

The Fox Television Stations group, one of the nation’s largest owned-and-operated network broadcast groups, comprises 35 stations in 26 markets, covering nearly 45% of U.S. television homes. This includes five duopolies in the top 10 markets, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas and Washington D.C., as well as duopolies in Houston, Minneapolis, Phoenix and Orlando.

A leader in the U.S. program production and distribution arena, Twentieth Television is a unit of Fox Television Stations, Inc., which is headed by chairman Roger Ailes while CEO Jack Abernethy oversees day-to-day operations. Twentieth Television provides a wide array of first-run and off-network programming, as well as feature film packages, to the syndication and cable marketplaces. First-run programs distributed by Twentieth Television include “Geraldo at Large,” the news strip hosted by Geraldo Rivera, and the popular court shows “Divorce Court” and “Judge Alex,” the number one new first-run program of the 2005-06 season. In addition to “Desire” and “Secrets,” the company is set to launch the new court show “Cristina’s Court,” hosted by Cristina Perez, in Fall 2006. Twentieth Television also oversees the domestic sales of one of the most extensive libraries of off-net programming in the entertainment industry. Last fall, the company launched the groundbreaking drama “24,” starring Kiefer Sutherland, and The Peabody Award-winning sitcom “The Bernie Mac Show” in off-net syndication.

Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation, is principally engaged in the development, production and worldwide distribution of feature films and television programs, television broadcasting and cable network programming. The unit’s studios, production facilities and film and television library provide high-quality creative content, and broadcasting and cable networks provide extensive distribution platforms for the Company's programs.

# # #

Media Contacts:

Les Eisner
Twentieth Television
310-369-3293
les.eisner@fox.com

Irena Briganti
Fox News
212-301-3608
irena.briganti@foxnews.com

Fox Interactive Media And Twentieth Century Fox Partner To Deliver Movies And TV Shows For Download

Multi-Year Deal to Bring Blockbuster Movies like “X-Men The Last Stand” and TV Hits Such As “24”, “Prison Break”, “It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia” to Properties Across Fox Interactive Media Network; IGN Site to Start, With MySpace and Others to Follow

LOS ANGELES, August 14, 2006 - Fox Interactive Media (FIM) and Twentieth Century Fox today announced a multi-year agreement to provide feature films and television shows on a download-to-own basis across the FIM network. Fox Interactive Media's network of leading properties reaching more than 75 million people a month in the U.S. (ComScore MediaMetrix) will have access to Fox Entertainment Group's vast catalogue of leading content including hit feature films such as “X-Men The Last Stand” and “The Omen” as well as episodes of television series like “24,” and “Prison Break.” IGN Entertainment will be the first FIM property to offer a selection of on its Direct2Drive site ( http:www.direct2drive.com ) in October 2006 with additional FIM properties including MySpace.com to come.

“Our drive to deliver Twentieth Century Fox content via the most powerful online platforms is advanced substantially by this agreement,” said Peter Levinsohn, President, Digital Media, Fox Entertainment Group. “Offering Fox content in conjunction with FIM properties enables viewers to access the best movies and TV shows from multiple platforms in the Fox family.”

Initially, FIM will offer films from Twentieth Century Fox including new releases, made-for-TV movies, direct-to-video releases and select content from the Twentieth Century Fox film library on IGN's Direct2Drive site. The site will also offer current television series from various Fox entities such as Twentieth Century Fox, Fox Broadcasting Company, Fuel TV, Speed, and FX with a selection of shows available within 24 hours of initial broadcast.

In an industry first, purchased movies and television shows will be immediately transferable to Windows Media compatible portable devices providing users with a convenient way to take the video content with them on the go.

“Today marks an important step as we continue to build a bridge between the worlds of user-generated and top-quality, professional content, further enhancing our range of consumer offerings across both free, ad-supported and paid download business models,” said FIM President Ross Levinsohn. “With more than 75 million monthly users and one of the largest entertainment communities on the web, we are thrilled to begin offering our users exciting content from Fox.”

The agreement with Twentieth Century Fox will enable FIM, already a leader in downloadable games with Direct2Drive, to expand its offerings with premier TV and movie content. Direct2Drive will promote the new offering throughout the IGN Entertainment network, including IGN.com, Rotten Tomatoes; and Film Force, among other sites.

Direct2Drive's secure digital download service will enable users to transfer content to up to two PCs and one portable device per PC. Content will be available at competitive prices: Approximately $19.99 for new feature film releases and $1.99 per TV series episode.

About Fox Interactive Media
A division of News Corp. (NWS and NWS.A), Fox Interactive Media (FIM) is an integrated network of sites offering socially rich media experiences centered on entertainment, news, information and self-expression. The company's network includes Internet assets from News Corp., including the highly trafficked FoxSports.com ( http://www.foxsports.com ), Americanidol.com
( http://www.americanidol.com ) and Fox.com ( http://www.fox.com ). FIM also owns and operates such category leaders as MySpace.com ( http://www.myspace.com ), the number one social networking site on the Web; Scout.com ( http://www.scout.com ), a dynamic collegiate and pro sports network; and IGN Entertainment ( http://www.ign.com ), a network of leading gaming and entertainment sites including men's lifestyle site AskMen ( http://www.askmen.com ) and premier destination for movie-goers Rotten Tomatoes ( http://www.rottentomatoes.com ) among others.

About Fox Entertainment Group
Fox Entertainment Group (FEG) is a unit of News Corporation (NYSE: NWS, NWS.A). It is principally engaged in the development, production and worldwide distribution of feature films and television programs, television broadcasting and cable network programming. The Company's studios, production facilities and film and television library provide high-quality creative content, and the Company's broadcasting and cable networks provide extensive distribution platforms for the Company's programs. Fox Digital Media is a division of FEG dedicated to setting distribution strategy and licensing programming from all FEG divisions to new, digital outlets.

Contacts:

For Fox Interactive Media:
Ann Burkart
(310) 969-7220 or Ann.burkart@fox.com

Sara Campbell/Edelman
(323) 202-1075 or Sara.campbell@edelman.com

For FOX:
Paul Nichols/The Lippin Group
(323) 965-1990
pnichols@lippingroup.com

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