Despite a bullish fiscal second quarter, during which revenues spiked 10 percent to $7.42 billion, 21st Century Fox issued a bearish forecast to investors.
The strong dollar, combined with a soft global market for TV advertising, convinced Fox executives to trim $250 million from its full-year 2015 projections, as well as another $200 million from its fiscal 2016 outlook.
In the short term, Fox's Q2 was significantly enhanced by the sale of DBS businesses Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland in Europe. Fox posted second quarter net income of $6.22 million, up from $982 million for the same period a year prior, based on a $5.04 billion gain from the satellite sales. (The 10 percent rise in Q2 earnings does not include revenue from the sold-off DBS operations.)
Cable network programming continued to drive the conglomerate, with operating income from that division jumping 12 percent to $1.16 billion.
As it did in the Walt Disney Company's quarterly report a day earlier, however, increased sports programming costs reared their head for Fox. Overall sports licensing fees rose 16 percent, fueled by Major League Baseball playoff coverage shifting over to Fox Sports 1.
For more:
- visit this 21st Century Fox investor relations page
- read this Variety story
- read this Deadline Hollywood story
Related links:
Dish makes deal with Fox News, ends blackout
Cable companies push back on spiraling program costs
Report: Fox and Disney jointly own more than $100 billion in long-term sports commitments