Potential buyers are circling for Australian pay TV platform Foxtel as owner News Corp indicated it is open to a sale.
The multinational media conglomerate’s chief executive Robert Thomson told a media call on Friday that Foxtel Group had recently garnered third-party interest, coinciding with the Murdoch-chaired group conducting a strategic review into its asset portfolio.
“There is no assurance regarding the timing of any action or transaction, nor that the strategic review will result in a transaction or other strategic change,” Mr Thomson cautioned.
Foxtel is 65 per cent owned by News Corp, with Telstra controlling the remaining share.
It launched in 1995 as a pure-play cable TV service but has in recent years expanded its offering with the addition of streaming services Binge and Kayo as media consumption habits have changed.
Mr Thomson said it has turned around its performance in recent years, with record subscriber numbers, low broadcast churn and rising revenue per user.
It came as News Corp lifted revenue six per cent in the June quarter to $US2.6 billion ($A3.94 billion), driven by higher residential real estate revenues at REA Group, stronger book sales and continued growth in professional information business Dow Jones.
“Our core pillars of growth – book publishing, digital real estate services and Dow Jones – inspired the increasing profitability, and their strength augurs well for fiscal 2025,” Mr Thomson said.
The group swung to a net profit of $US71 million after making a loss of $US32 million in the prior year.
But the performance was dampened by $US51 million in launch costs at Foxtel-owned streaming service Hubbl and more disappointing results in news media.
Revenues at News Corp Australia – which owns newspapers including The Australian, the Herald Sun and the Daily Telegraph – sunk five per cent as advertising revenues and circulation continued to slide.
Foxtel lost 131,000 residential broadcast subscribers but this was more than offset by an increase in subscriptions at Binge and Kayo, with revenue up one per cent.
For the full-year, News Corp revenues edged up two per cent to $US10.1 billion, while net income grew 89 per cent to $US354 million.
By Jacob Shteyman in Canberra
