21st Century Fox Posts Q4 Profit on Strong Film, Cable Results

(Aug 7, 2014) 21st Century Fox saw its fourth-quarter net earnings rise, thanks to gains from its filmed entertainment segment and cable networks.

The company, which recently called off its bid to take over Time Warner, reported quarterly revenues of $8.42 billion, a 17-percent increase over the same period a year ago. This was lifted by an increase at the filmed entertainment segment, which was led by higher theatrical revenues, and also double-digit growth at the cable network programming and direct broadcast satellite (DBS) television segments. Cable got a boost from higher affiliate revenues, while DBS was helped by solid subscription revenues. Operating income gained 19 percent to $1.77 billion.

AMC Networks Quarterly Profit Dips, Revenue Gains

(Aug 7, 2014) AMC Networks reported mixed Q2 financials, with revenue rising thanks to its national-networks division, while profit took a hit.

Second-quarter revenue rose 38 percent to $522 million. This was led by an 8.7-percent gain from its national networks and an increase of $111 million for International and Other. Profit for the quarter was $58.7 million, which is down from the $135.7 million in the prior-year period.

Multiplay brings ARRIS advanced STB to Brazil

(Aug 7, 2014) Pay-TV provider Multiplay is the first to certify the ARRIS Group DCX525e and is now able to offer this advanced set-top to its subscribers in Brazil.

8 August, 2014

Welcome to News Views, CASBAA’s news round-up culled from sources across the industry for the week ending Aug 8th. Curated by CASBAA, News Views keeps you in the loop. We always value your feedback, so tell us what you think!

Brought to you by:

John Medeiros

Chief Policy Officer

Six months ago, in our “Digital, Legal and Anywhere” report on Australia, CASBAA and law firm Olswang observed that one of the problems in the piracy landscape there (and elsewhere) is that consumers are often unaware of how to access legitimate digital content. The Australian content industries reocognized we made a good point, and they have now taken up this challenge. A coalition of Aussie groups have developed an attractive and easy-to-use website to help lead consumers to legal content supplies online (both music and video). The site directs visitors to information about different services, which can be clicked directly to explore and enjoy. The official launch press release can be found here.

Christopher Slaughter

CEO

I’m not a fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers in US major league baseball, although they’ve been having a great year (while my Colorado Rockies are in the toilet). No, what I’ve been watching is the months-long dispute between Time Warner Cable and Direct TV over the Dodgers TV channel, SportsNet LA. While the altercation might not exactly be the turning point for the cable business some are calling it, it’s definitely a reminder of the importance of sports to the Pay TV industry.

We’ll be presenting a panel on sports at this year’s CASBAA Convention (and it will cover more than just BPL rights!), but before then Sports Matters will be covering all aspects of the world of sport in Singapore next month, 17-18 September.

Anjan Mitra

Executive Director, India

Court-ordered site blocking in India continues to develop, with a court approving an application by Star TV to require blocking of 107 websites engaged in transmission of a cricket tournament licensed to Star.

John Medeiros

Chief Policy Officer

Thailand’s principal regulator has asked the military government to set up a special committee to consider convergence issues. Reading between the lines, one might be tempted to think this is a play for bureaucratic authority vis-à-vis other agencies/Ministries. But some of the issues proposed for consideration are very real-world ones, like for example the stark differences in content regulation between licensed TV and internet TV. One likes to hope that the committee might consider intellectual property issues as well…

Jane Buckthought

Advertising Consultant

Global Ad-spend is expected to increase by 5.8% this year and 5% next year in the 13 countries covered in the latest Consensus Ad Forecast from Warc. Positive results from India up 11.3% and in China up 11.1%. Internet is growing quickly up 16.4% and TV with 5.3%.

Michael Steel

Regulatory Assistant

The Aussie debate on which way to take copyright (more enforcement or more loopholes) continues to rage. This column is an interesting contribution, from a guy who’s in the music (not the video) industry. But his points are supremely relevant. He notes that services like Spotify and Pandora have brought instant availability of music content to consumers throughout Australia… but “for Australian artists, making music available this way has not stopped file sharing of songs — in fact, it seems to have encouraged the belief that music should be free all the time… how do you expect artists to get paid for their work, which is seemingly valued by those who want to listen to it?”

John Medeiros

Chief Policy Officer

Some people might think this approach to ending piracy is a little extreme. I guess throttling a pirate’s internet connection is probably more socially acceptable, eh?

Godfrey Chan

Member Relations & Marketing Executive

The Director Isn’t Done Yet: An Interview With Steven Soderbergh, talking about his views of moving on from movie industry to television.

Some additional links you might be interested in:

‘Suspended’ TV channels in Thailand ordered to be renamed

(Aug 8, 2014) The National Council for Peace and Order has suggested that the suspended “political” satellite TV stations be renamed and their TV programmes reshuffled to be in accordance with the junta’s Order No 97/2557 on media outlets, which bans dissemination of information that would “confuse people” or “cause or widen conflicts”.

Inmarsat Opens Office in Beijing

(Aug 6, 2014) Inmarsat has established its first office in Beijing, China as part of a larger expansion into the country. The company is the only international satellite communications operator with a Satellite Access Station (SAS) in China, making Inmarsat fully compliant with Chinese regulations.

Feature Films, Consumer Products Lift Disney Q3

(Aug 6, 2014) On the back of strong gains at its studio entertainment and consumer-products division, The Walt Disney Company reported third-quarter revenues that were 8 percent higher at $12.5 billion and a net profit that was up by 22 percent to $2.2 billion.

Time Warner Profit Up on HBO, Turner Gains

(Aug 6, 2014) Time Warner’s second-quarter profit rose to $850 million as the company reported gains at HBO and Turner, with total revenues increasing by 3 percent to $6.8 billion.

The results come a day after 21st Century Fox announced it was abandoning its bid to acquire the conglomerate. In announcing the results, Time Warner’s chairman and CEO, Jeff Bewkes, noted, “We had another strong quarter, reflecting the strength of our businesses and our potential for continued growth as we deliver on our strategic plan to be the world’s leading video content company.”

HBO mulls international OTT expansion

(Aug 5, 2014) HBO is considering an expansion of its the over-the-top (OTT) strategy that it kicked off in the Nordics in 2012. Japan, Turkey and other markets that have good broadband levels and few HBO-pay-TV partnerships are on the table.

StarHub pay-TV revenue up 3%

(Aug 5, 2014) Pay TV revenue increased 3% to S$98.4 million from S$95.6 million for the quarter, and 1% higher YoY at S$192.2 million for the half-year period. The higher revenue was due to higher subscription and advertising revenue. Pay TV ARPU was at S$51 for the quarter and S$52 for the half-year. The pay TV customer base grew 1% YoY, ending the quarter with 535,000 customers.

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