Revenue up, profit down at Murdoch's 21st Century Fox

The Rupert Murdoch-controlled media-entertainment group 21st Century Fox said Wednesday its latest quarterly results were boosted by a widely watched Super Bowl and other sports and cable programming. Profits in the past quarter fell 63 percent from a year earlier to $1.05 billion, reflecting comparison to last year's results which had a one-time gain of $2.1 billion. The results were better than market forecasts as revenues grew 12 percent to $8.22 billion for the third fiscal quarter. "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," said Murdoch, who is chairman and chief executive of the unit formed by the split of his NewsCorp empire. "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." Television revenues jumped 32 percent and advertising revenues grew 30 percent from the prior year, driven by the broadcast of Super Bowl XLVIII. The company also saw cable network programming revenues up 10 percent, and filmed entertainment rising six percent. Revenues were helped by the sale of transmission rights of hit series such as "24" to Amazon, and the theatrical release of "Rio 2" in April, which has grossed nearly $400 million in box office said. In after-hours trade, Fox shares rose 3.5 percent to $33.25 on the news.