Buoyant results a boost for News
THE global news media industry is facing a critical point in its history, as governments move to rein in the unchecked market power and dysfunction of the digital platforms, News Corp chief executive Robert Thomson says.
Announcing the company’s stellar second quarter results, Mr Thomson warned of the pernicious presence of the tech titans in the sector, and spoke of the worldwide push to regulate them.
“We are at a pivotal moment of those discussions in Australia, where new regulations and new terms of trade will be introduced,” he said.
“But that debate now extends across the globe. There is not a single serious digital regulator anywhere in the world who is not examining the opacity of algorithms, the integrity of personal data, the social value of professional journalism, and the dysfunctional digital ad market.”
News Corp more than doubled its December quarter net profit to $US261m ($343m), from $US103m a year earlier, helped by a better-thanexpected jump in revenue, as the media major saw a surge in subscriptions and advertising across its digital platforms.
The company, owner of this masthead, and which has a majority stake in Foxtel, said the three months to endDecember was its most profitable second quarter in more than seven years, reflecting the digital transformation of the business. News Corp stock surged 13.2 per cent to $28.41.
News Corp booked revenue of $US2.41bn for the December quarter, up from $US2.12bn in the September quarter.
Driving the bounce was a 77 per cent jump in quarterly earnings for News’ subscription video services to $US124m, mostly as Foxtel rebounded. Foxtel’s total closing paid subscribers were 3.314 million, a 12 per cent lift compared to the prior year, mostly due to the launch of streaming services Binge and the growth in Kayo sports subscribers.
Closing digital subscribers at News Corp Australia’s mastheads hit a record 738,300, compared to 566,600 in the prior year.
“In Australia, we were fortunately ahead of the curve in transitioning many of our local and regional print properties to digital platforms, which helped them weather the storm of lockdown,” Mr Thomson said.