• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, February 8, 2023

Fox Corp. defied the U.S. ad market’s declines, reporting an ad-revenue increase of 4% for the fourth quarter of 2022.

While Fox called out local political advertising demand on its local TV stations -- as well as strong sales growth at its ad-supported streaming service Tubi -- it also cited strong national TV network sales, despite the absence of “Thursday Night Football” in its year-over-year comparisons.

“A compelling fall sports schedule, combined with an active midterm political news cycle, showcased the power and relevance of the Fox platform,” Executive Chair and CEO Lachlan Murdoch noted in a statement issued with its quarterly earnings release this morning.

“Whether measured in terms of engagement, monetization or profitability, our focused strategy of live news and sports programming, coupled with our growing digital initiatives, continues to deliver,” he said -- adding that based on the results, Fox Corp. has boosted its stock repurchasing program.

While overall ad revenues were relatively strong during the quarter, Fox’s national TV networks actually saw a small year-over-year dip of 0.7% vs. the first quarter of 2021. However, that is much healthier than the overall U.S. national TV advertising marketplace, which declined 6%, according to data reported by Standard Media Index.

“Advertising revenues were broadly consistent with the prior year quarter as the headwind at Fox News Media due to the impact of elevated supply in the direct response marketplace was nearly offset by the broadcast of the World Cup at Fox Sports,” the company told investors, adding, that it also had a 7% jump in “other revenues,” which were primarily from “higher Fox Nation subscription revenues.”