21st Century Fox posted a 27% "increase in profit" for its Q2 ended Dec. 31, "driven by stronger advertising and affiliate fees at its broadcast and cable-television segments," according to Keach Hagey of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. The company reported net income of $856M, up from $672M a year earlier. Revenue "rose 4%" to $7.68B. The Fox network was the "star of the quarter, thanks to strong advertising revenue from sports events such as the World Series." The broadcaster "helped push television segment revenue up 12%." Politics and sports also "helped boost revenue and profit at the cable division," home to Fox News and FS1. 21st Century Fox CEO James Murdoch said, "The power of sports can’t really be overstated." He added that the "strength of Fox’s baseball and NFL postseason ratings, as well as viewership for Super Bowl Sunday on Fox," is notable. The cable division’s domestic affiliate revenue "grew 7% due to distribution rate increases" at Fox Networks, FS1, Fox News and RSNs (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 2/7). 21st Century Fox co-Chair Lachlan Murdoch yesterday said that Super Bowl LI audience figure was "big news for Fox Sports." Murdoch added that the Super Bowl telecast "drove 21st Century Fox to its first 'half-billion dollar revenue day,' which will land" in the company's Q3 (HOLLYWOODREPORTER.com, 2/6). Fox said it "expected that broadcasting the game would lead" to $500M in advertising and sponsorship revenue. But VARIETY's Brent Lang noted that "will be logged in future quarters" (VARIETY.com, 2/6). At presstime, shares of 21st Century Fox were trading at $30.25, down 2.6% from the close of business yesterday (THE DAILY).
