World Cup Final and Election Ads Push Fox Revenue Up 22% to $4.57 Billion
Fox Corp reported quarterly revenue of $4.57 billion, up 22%, with advertising up 47% on the World Cup final and midterm election spending, while profit rose to $957 million.
Fox Corp posted a 22% rise in quarterly revenue to $4.57 billion, driven by this summer’s World Cup and advertising around the U.S. midterm elections, Inside World Football reported Wednesday. Advertising revenue rose 47% in the fiscal first quarter, according to the Wall Street Journal, with the free streaming service Tubi also contributing. Profit climbed to $957 million from $609 million a year earlier. The period also included the start of the NFL season and the MLB playoffs.
A record final audience
The World Cup was the standout. Fox’s coverage of the final, Spain’s win over Argentina at MetLife Stadium, set a U.S. English-language record with 38.9 million viewers, and Nielsen research has since shown the tournament added nearly 10 million soccer fans in the U.S. in a year.
Elsewhere, Fox reported $350 million in political advertising across the midterm cycle. Chief executive Lachlan Murdoch put an October ratings dip at Fox News, down 28% in prime time year on year, down to “viewer fatigue” and strong comparisons with a year earlier. The network remains the most watched in U.S. cable news.
What comes next for the rights
Murdoch said Fox was “obviously happy with the performance of the World Cup this past year and we’ll be looking at the rights for 2030 and 2034 in a disciplined manner as we would with all sports rights.” FIFA began the bidding process last month, according to Bloomberg, and the rights are expected to fetch as much as $4 billion. Netflix has already bought the 2030 rights in Spain and holds exclusive U.S. and Canadian rights to the 2027 and 2031 Women’s World Cups. Fox has held U.S. English-language rights since 2015.
Reporting based on coverage by Inside World Football, the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg.
