Fox Corp.'s Tubi Estimated To Grow To $1B In Revenues, $300M For Current Year
- by Wayne Friedman , February 9, 2021
“We envision Tubi becoming a $1 billion business and a core pillar of Fox,” said Lachlan Murdoch, executive chairman-CEO of Fox Corp., speaking during an earnings phone call with analysts.
With regard to the near term, he added: “We expect Tubi revenues to more than double in the current fiscal year, to exceed $300 million.”
Although Fox didn’t release fourth-quarter revenue data for Tubi, Murdoch added: “Revenue for this past quarter alone broadly approximated Tubi’s revenue for the entire fiscal year before we acquired the company.”
MoffettNathanson Research estimates Tubi's recent fiscal quarter revenue was $105 million.
For its fourt-quarter 2020, Fox Corp’s revenues dropped 8% to $4.09 billion, with net income slipping to $230 million from $314 million.
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Mid-day trading of Fox stock price was down 5.5% to $29.83.
For the calendar year, MoffettNathanson estimates Fox News Media took in well over 80% of the total company’s cash flow this year (EBITDA) -- earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization -- as well as two-thirds of cable networks' affiliate fees.
Fox’s total networks and platform advertising grew a substantial 14% to $2.3 billion in Q4 2020, from its Fox News Channel and the Fox Television stations
Advertising revenues at Fox News Media -- home of the Fox News Channel and Fox Business -- rocketed up 31% ($104 million) to $441 million. This includes revenue from its traditional live, linear TV network and digital platforms.
Due to cancelled college football and other games at its sport cable TV network, total cable network affiliate fees sank 3% to $928 million. But Fox says affiliate fees continue to climb by double-digit percentage growth at its Fox News Media networks.
At its television unit -- the Fox network and the Fox TV stations -- revenues were 13% higher to $2.6 billion.
Advertising revenues in this business grew 10% to $1.8 billion, including a “record’ political advertising total at the Fox-owned TV stations. Affiliate fee revenue (retransmission fees) at those stations soared 23% to $590 million.
