Go Pro Today

Fox Beats Q2 Earnings Expectations With First Fall Ratings Win in a Decade

Company reports higher revenues from leasing Fox Studio Lot to Disney

| February 5, 2020 @ 1:31 PM Last Updated: February 5, 2020 @ 4:13 PM
Masked Singer Kelly Osbourne Ladybug

Fox

Fox topped Wall Street’s earnings and revenue forecasts for the second quarter of fiscal 2020 on Wednesday.

For the three months ending on Dec. 31, representing the company’s second fiscal quarter for 2020, Fox reported $3.78 billion in revenue, topping analyst estimates of $3.65 billion. Fox also posted an adjusted earnings per share of 10 cents, which narrowly surpassed projections of 4 cents EPS.

“Our results reaffirm that Fox Corporation is delivering on the operational and financial objectives that we established less than twelve months ago. Our brands are exhibiting strength in a competitive marketplace and delivering healthy top-line growth as we continue to invest strategically to expand the reach of our portfolio and further diversify our revenue streams,” said Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch. “Meanwhile, we are taking a balanced approach to capital allocation, including the return of $500 million to shareholders in the form of share repurchases since our last earnings release. Coming off an incredibly successful Super Bowl LIVand with the buildup to the November Presidential Election ahead of us, we look forward to continuing our momentum through calendar 2020.”

Also Read: Fox News' State of the Union Coverage Got Twice as Many Viewers as CNN, MSNBC Combined

Broadcast saw a shakeup in the Nielsen rankings this autumn, with Fox grabbing its first fall TV ratings win among the all-important adults 18-49 demographic in a decade. The network also claimed its first-ever fall ratings victory among the key demo when counting entertainment shows only — so excluding the ratings it gets for sports programs like “Friday Night SmackDown” and “Thursday Night Football” — thanks mainly to “The Masked Singer,” which aired its second season in the fall, and returned for its third cycle after Super Bowl LIV on Sunday.

During the call with analysts, Fox said it brought in $600 million in gross revenue on Super Bowl Sunday.

Over at Fox News, the quarter was less rosy. The top-rated news network saw a $16 million decrease in advertising revenues, primarily due to two factors: The year-ago quarter got a record amount of political advertising for the 2018 midterm elections, and the current quarter experienced a higher-than-normal amount of breaking news coverage due to President Trump’s impeachment.

Overall, ad revenues across the entire company were up 1%, with sports and entertainment at Fox broadcast network offsetting the other declines. Fox also said it got a 32% increase from other revenue sources at the cable network programming in the sports arena, with higher sub-licensing fees and pay-per-view boxing revenues.

Fox attributed other strong revenue growth from its leasing agreement with Disney to use the Fox Studio Lot — Disney owns 20th Century, but Fox kept the lot in the sale — as well as the consolidation of Credible Labs.

Winter TV 2020: Premiere Dates for New and Returning Shows (Photos)

  • winter premiere dates 2020 ABC/AMC/NBC/Netflix
  • Netflix
  • Say Yes to the Dress America TLC
  • Sister Wives TLC
  • Luke on 'Naked and Afraid: Alone' Discovery Channel
  • America's Got Talent: The Champions - Season 1 NBC
  • "The Bachelor" Peter Weber ABC
  • Love and Hip Hop Miami VH1
  • Manifest - NBC NBC
  • Ellen's Game of Games - Season 2 NBC
  • James Holzhauer Jeopardy Tournament of Champions ABC
  • Wild 'N Out Nick Cannon VH1
  • Gordon Ramsay's '24 Hours to Hell and Back' Fox
  • the haves and the have nots season 2 premiere ratings OWN
  • Schitt's Creek Pop TV
  • Vanderpump Rules - Season 7 Bravo
  • CBS
  • Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist - Season 1 NBC
  • Netflix
  • Undercover Boss CBS
  • Catfish MTV MTV
  • Criminal Minds CBS
  • curt menefee america's top dog A&E
  • Party of Five Freeform
  • Netflix
  • AJ AND THE QUEEN Netflix
  • Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt For The Bone Collector - Season 1 NBC
  • Jason Bateman The Outsider HBO
  • New Pope HBO
  • Grace And Frankie Netflix
  • Syfy
  • 68 Whiskey Paramount Network
  • CNBC
  • Killer Inside The Mind of Aaron Hernandez Netflix
  • grownish Freeform
  • Everythings Gonna be Okay Freeform
  • Apple TV+
  • Diary of a Future President Disney+
  • Sex Education Gillian Anderson Netflix
  • BBC America
  • Avenue 5 HBO
  • 911 Lone Star Fox
  • HBO
  • Nat Geo
  • Home Town HGTV
  • Legends of Tomorrow The CW
  • Project Blue Book History
  • Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens Comedy Central
  • CBS All Access
  • Station 19 ABC
  • OUTMATCHED Fox
  • The Bold Type Freeform
  • Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Netflix
  • The Ranch Netflix
  • Hulu
  • Netflix
  • Showtime
  • Our Cartoon President - Showtime Showtime
  • YouTube
  • USA Network
  • Miracle Workers_ Dark Ages TBS
  • NEXT IN FASHION Netflix
  • Miz and Mrs - Season 1 USA Network
  • The Stranger Netflix
  • bojack horseman season 5 trailer Netflix
  • Ted Bundy Falling for a Killer Amazon Prime Video
  • ragnarok Netflix
  • Masked Singer Season 3 Fox
  • Manhunt: Deadly Games Spectrum
  • McMillion$ HBO
  • Desus and Mero Showtime
  • Will Arnett Getty
  • Interrogation CBS All Access CBS All Access
  • Katy Keene The CW
  • Brooklyn Nine-Nine - Season 6 NBC
  • USA Network
  • Indebted - Season Pilot NBC
  • Edie Falco Tommy CBS
  • USA Network
  • Mythic Quest Apple TV+
  • Locke and Key Netflix
  • MacGyver CBS
  • high maintenance HBO
  • Showtime
  • Showtime Showtime
  • OWN
  • ABC's 'For Life' ABC
  • Survivor CBS
  • The Soup Jade Catta-Preta E!
  • Narcos: Mexico Diego Luna Netflix
  • Love Is Blind Netflix
  • High Fidelity Hulu
  • Hulu
  • Ellen DeGeneres in 'Visible: Out on Television' Apple TV+
  • Outlander Season 5 Starz
  • American Idol ABC
  • Duncanville Fox
  • Extreme Makeover Home Edition HGTV HGTV
  • NBC
  • John Oliver on 'Last Week Tonight' HBO
  • Sacred Lies Facebook Watch
  • The Chef Show Netflix
  • Gentefied Netflix
  • Amazon Prime Video
  • Better Call Saul AMC
  • The Voice - Season 17 NBC
  • Little Big Shots - Season 4 NBC
  • Sophia Lillis I Am Not Okay With This trailer Netflix
  • Altered Carbon Netflix
  • MTV
  • RuPaul's Drag Race Vh1
  • AMC
  • Breeders FX
  • Twenties BET BET
  • The Deed: Chicago - Season 2 CNBC
  • Dave FXX
  • Castlevania Netflix
  • DEVS -- Pictured: Nick Offerman as Forest. CR: Miya Mizuno/FX FX
  • Better Things FX
  • Cake FX FXX
  • Amazing Stories Apple TV+
  • Hillary Hulu Hulu
  • The Most Dangerous Animal of All FX
  • ride with norman reedus AMC
  • Neil DeGrasse Tyson Cosmos Nat Geo
  • Council of Dads NBC
  • On My Block Netflix
  • Elite Netflix Netflix
  • Flack Pop TV
  • The Wall Chris Hardwick NBC
  • HBO
  • Don Cheadle in Black Monday Showtime
  • Pilot The CW
  • The Plot Against America HBO
  • My Brilliant Friend HBO
  • Motherland Fort Salem Freeform
  • Hulu
  • Hank Azaria in 'Brockmire' IFC
1 of 138

Here’s when 137 broadcast, cable and streaming series debut and come back

Winter is well underway and with it, naturally, comes the Winter TV season. In honor of the colder months and their small-screen offerings, TheWrap has rounded up the premiere dates for not just the new and returning shows on Fox, ABC, NBC, CBS and The CW, but also the ones for the eagerly anticipated series hitting cable channels and streaming services this winter. Click through our gallery to find out when your favorite winter shows will be back and when your possible new favorites will debut.

Also Read: Why Netflix Is Betting You’ll Want ‘The Witcher’ Season 2 – Before You’ve Seen Season 1

View In Gallery

Related Content