The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.
(Questions from industry analysts are provided in full, but answers are omitted - download the transcript to see the full question-and-answer session)
Question: Kannan Venkateshwar - Barclays - Analyst
: <_ALACRA_META_ABSTRACT>So FOX is interesting in many ways because you made a very contrarian bet and you're stuck with traditional media when all your
peers were essentially plowing all the capital into streaming. And it seems like in hindsight, it worked out for you guys better than
your peers for the most part. And you guys have just announced a streaming a streaming package now.
So could you just talk about the transition? I mean you made a decision which was different, and now you seem to be going towards
streaming. So what changed? And how do you think the ecosystem evolves going forward?
Question: Kannan Venkateshwar - Barclays - Analyst
: Got it. And I guess one of the risks to this approach could be, of course, that consumers by fall of this year, including your product,
ESPN is going direct-to-consumer. So almost every piece of sport in the US will be available on streaming in some form. And that
may, in theory accelerate cord cutting, especially given some of the price points we are starting to see for ESPN, looks like it may
come in at $25, which seems pretty low given that Netflix at the premium tier is $23, and this has all the sports. So broadly, how do
you think about cord cutting going forward when all these packages go live?
Question: Kannan Venkateshwar - Barclays - Analyst
: Got it. Yes, I mean, to that point, I guess, we've had a couple of years where the pace of cord cutting seem to accelerate. It was at
least mid-single digits for most networks and faster for a lot of others. But you were not impacted because you had this renewal
cycle for affiliate and retrans, which kept your growth pretty healthy relative to the rest of the industry. And now, to your point,
bundles are getting skinnier and more affordable and more concentrated in terms of sports and so on.
So if that trend continues, there's a chance that maybe concurring slows down and you have the tailwinds from some of these
renewals you've done recently. So shouldn't your affiliate see trend continue? Is there something that takes away from that narrative?
Question: Kannan Venkateshwar - Barclays - Analyst
: Got it. And when you think about these distribution deals, both with MVPDs as well as local broadcast partners, I'm assuming some
of this -- the plans that you have on the streaming side, to some extent, are incorporated in it. So maybe could you talk about what
impact the streaming launch may or may not have on these trends? And then any scale ambitions you have on the streaming front?
I mean how does that offset against some of these distribution deals?
Question: Kannan Venkateshwar - Barclays - Analyst
: Got it. One of the interesting experiments you guys did recently was with the Super Bowl and you broadcast it for free on QB. So
could you talk about what you saw there in terms of the degree to which it complemented broadcast versus the degree to which it
cannibalizes it. Overall, audience was, of course, pretty big. So what was your experience from that? And how could you use that
going forward?
Question: Kannan Venkateshwar - Barclays - Analyst
: Yes. Another business that's doing really well right now is FOX News. And you've seen a lot of growth even as your peers post-election
that have seen very different trends. And so could you talk about what's going on in the business? Is your growth more a function
of the inclusion of your peers? Or is it more tailwinds from maybe the demographics of your viewership base aligning with the
administration like -- what are you guys seeing there?
Question: Kannan Venkateshwar - Barclays - Analyst
: Got it. And I guess this also is starting to flow into the pool of advertisers you're able to tap into. I mean, based on your comments
last quarter, I mean, on the earnings call, it feels like it's starting to broaden out a lot more is it structural? Or is this just an artifact of
the election or something that happened after it? So could you talk about that a little bit?
Question: Kannan Venkateshwar - Barclays - Analyst
: Great. I guess one of the issues with the FOX News business is there right now is basically trying to convert that or pivoted that to
the streaming ecosystem tends to be a lot more difficult just given how -- what kind of content people consume on streaming, and
it doesn't feel very organic in that sense. You do have a product out there in FOX Nation. So could you talk about what the experience
thus far is with FOX Nation? And you recently announced an acquisition as well as Red Seat Ventures and how does that fit into the
digital strategy?
Question: Kannan Venkateshwar - Barclays - Analyst
: Got it. And given all this momentum, I mean, you have a lot of digital inventory, you obviously spoke about FOX News, you have a
certain base amount of sports going into the upfront with a lot of momentum behind you. But then the offset, I guess, is there's a
lot of streaming inventory also coming in. Netflix is trying to push a lot of inventory as is Amazon and so on. So how do you see the
upfront season playing out, rates remain stable? Is there any risk to that?
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FEBRUARY 25, 2025 / 3:25PM, FOXA.OQ - Fox Corp at Barclays Communications and Content Symposium
Question: Kannan Venkateshwar - Barclays - Analyst
: Got it. Maybe one last question, we're already out of time. But in terms of sports costs, I guess, MLB's Disney just walked away from
it. You guys have walked away from a lot of sports. So have sports costs peaked?
Question: Kannan Venkateshwar - Barclays - Analyst
: Got it. Thank you, Steve.
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