Is Rupert Murdoch gearing up to be an American Idol? Australia's News Corp. (NYSE:NWS), which owns Fox Entertainment Group (NYSE:FOX) as well as a collection of media properties the world over, reported some healthy signs for investors today. With double-digit gains across most areas of its stable of media offerings, which include film, TV, newspapers, magazines, and book publishing, News Corp. had some good news to share.
A quick look at third-quarter numbers reveals that revenues increased 19% to $5.2 billion, with net profit up a whopping 69% to $465 million, or $0.32 per American Depositary Receipt. Operating income grew 22% to $838 million.
DVD sales for News Corp.'s movie production unit played a part in the company's sales, with flicks like League of Extraordinary Gentlemen helping things along. Operating income for the film segment was one of the few areas that only showed single-digit growth, up 6% to $214 million. In addition, love it or despise it, American Idol was still a big part of the success, and Fox News Channel continued to be a popular pit stop for channel surfers and news junkies; the company's television segment sales increased 25% to $259 million.
News Corp. said it plans to launch another Fox channel in the near future. Moving right along, it has a controlling interest in satellite operator DirecTV, which continues to add subscribers at a good clip. The company is not without plenty of media rivals, including Motley Fool Stock Advisor pick Time Warner (NYSE:TWX), Disney (NYSE:DIS), and Viacom (NYSE:VIA). Recently, while advertising has been a bright spot, Time Warner continued to have problems with its America Online unit and Viacom reported good news, though investors still await the spinoff of its albatross, Blockbuster (NYSE:BBI). And, of course, Disney has had one controversy after another.
The revitalization of advertising has been obvious as all manner of media companies are reporting pretty robust numbers lately, so it's hardly surprising that News Corp. is showing some of the same. It handed out an upbeat view for the rest of the year, anticipating operating income growth in the 17% to 19% range, a much more upbeat view than its previous call for single-digit growth. With plans to reincorporate here in America later this year, News Corp. stock may soon discover some new fans in the New World.
American Idol fans, look no further. Talk about your favorite show to other Fools on the American Idol discussion board. Or if one of the other reality TV shows is more your taste, you can chat on the Reality Television board.
Alyce Lomax does not own shares of any companies mentioned. She still misses Fox's X-Files -- that is, before it jumped the shark.
