News Corp. (NYSE: NWS) reported third-quarter earnings last week, and the owner of Web hotspot MySpace.com did not disappoint. The main drivers of increased earnings were its broadcast TV, cable network programming, and satellite TV divisions, yet MySpace merits especially close attention. The site averaged more than 30 billion page views last month; if managed correctly, it has huge earnings potential.
For the quarter, revenues were up only 2.5% to $6.2 billion, but net income soared to $820 million, helped by a $206 million pre-tax gain on the sale of a Mexican satellite operator to DIRECTV (NYSE: DTV). Arguing that there is no better use of the company's cash, given the stock's valuation discount to peers such as Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) and Disney (NYSE: DIS), Rupert Murdoch announced a shareholder-friendly expansion of News Corp.'s almost-completed share buyback, which will now include $6 billion worth of stock.
Television operating income leapt 29% to $286 million, as the Fox network swung to a profit from a loss, benefiting from increased ratings. The cable TV segment was up 23% to $211 million, helped by Fox News Channel's 80% increase in viewership. And satellite TV made a complete turnaround from last year's $21 million loss -- with nearly 500,000 new subscribers bringing the total to 3.7 million, satellite turned in a solid performance with a $69 million profit this quarter.
While there's lots of good news here, I also have to say that I've never been a fan of the PR games that companies play. News Corp. is in the midst of one. The third line of the earnings press release stated that net income doubled from last year's numbers. Doesn't that make a nice impression on shareholders? Yet the actual $206 million pre-tax gain is not broken out until the end of the press release, just before the company offers an eye-glazing number of charts detailing the company's performance over the past year. The actual gain in net income, after adjusting for a one-time loss last year, is 41%. That doesn't hold quite the same appeal as "doubled," now does it?
As for MySpace's numbers, there's no need for exaggeration. Its 30 billion page-view average from last month puts it in second place among all websites, and the site has more than 70 million registered users. Recent initiatives to make episodes of TV's 24, The Office, and American Idol available online are intelligent moves to profit from its user base.
It bears noting that MySpace is only a small part of the News Corp. empire, yet the company's television, movie, and other media properties aren't doing too shabbily, either. The other sectors may not have the sex appeal of MySpace, but they are generating gobs of cash -- more than $2 billion so far this year. That inflow is no doubt funding numerous initiatives that aim to meld the content platforms together.
If I were Google (Nasdaq: GOOG), I'd be paying attention to MySpace. The next generation of Internet pay-per-click advertising will be supported by online content, and News Corp. has both the content and the online properties to build an online advertising powerhouse. News Corp. may be a stodgy company, but it's one that investors need to watch.
More Murdoch-related Foolishness:
Time Warner and Disney are
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Fool contributor Stephen Ellis does not own shares of any companies mentioned.
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