FOX Q2 Earnings Call Highlights

Core Insights - Fox Corporation reported a total revenue of $5.18 billion for the fiscal second quarter, reflecting a 2% increase from the prior year, driven by distribution revenue growth of 4% and advertising revenue growth of 1% despite a challenging comparison to last year's political advertising cycle [5][6][16] Television Segment - The Television segment generated revenue of $2.94 billion, with television advertising revenue remaining unchanged due to growth in Tubi and additional MLB postseason games being offset by the absence of prior-year political advertising [1] - Television distribution revenue increased by 1%, while television content and other revenue declined by 19% due to lower entertainment production studio revenue [1] - Segment EBITDA was reported at $143 million, down from $205 million a year earlier [1] Cable Segment - The Cable segment posted revenue of $2.28 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $687 million, both up 5% from the previous year [2] - Cable advertising revenue rose by 7%, attributed to higher pricing in news and sports, while cable distribution revenue also increased by 5% [2] Advertising Performance - Fox experienced robust advertising demand across news, sports, and streaming, with record-breaking ad revenue for the MLB postseason and strong performance in NFL and college football [7][8] - The company added approximately 200 new advertisers in the first half of the fiscal year, building on 350 new advertisers from the previous year [9] Distribution Trends - Distribution revenue rose by 4%, with subscriber declines improving sequentially, reported at a decline rate of 6.3% [11] - Fox One, launched five months ago, exceeded expectations, with no noticeable cannibalization of traditional subscribers [11] Tubi Performance - Tubi achieved its most-streamed quarter ever, with total view time up 27% year over year and quarterly revenue up 19%, achieving EBITDA profitability for the second consecutive quarter [13][14] - The platform's audience composition shows that 70% of Tubi's user base consists of cord cutters or cord nevers [14] Financial Position - Fox reported a free cash flow deficit of $791 million for the quarter, consistent with seasonal working capital tied to sports rights payments [15] - The company repurchased $1.8 billion of shares fiscal year-to-date, with cumulative repurchases since 2019 totaling $8.4 billion, representing about 35% of total shares outstanding [16]