The Presidential election and a record World Series helped drive revenue at 21st Century Fox in the fiscal first quarter, and domestic ad revenue rose in the double digits.

At Fox' cable networks, revenue rose 7% in the quarter to $3.97 billion and cash flow increased 6% to $1.3 billion, driven by strong ratings at Fox News during and after the Presidential election, won by network fan Donald Trump, as well as strong post-season baseball ratings at FS1. Domestic affiliate fees were up 7% in the period.

On the broadcast side, revenue rose 12% to $1.9 billion and cash flow increased 35% to $376 million, fueled by a record World Series. The seven-game match-up between the Cleveland Indians and Chicago Cubs was the most-watched Fall Classic in 25 years.

Overall revenue was up 4% to $7.7 billion and cash flow increased 15% to $1.99 billion.

The revenue results were in line with analysts’ estimates, who expected a strong showing from Fox News. But Fox more than doubled ad sales predictions – some  analysts expected a 5% gain in ad revenue.

“We delivered a second consecutive quarter of double-digit earnings growth, driven by solid increases in affiliate and advertising revenues across cable and television,” Fox executive chairman Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch said in a statement. “Our record-breaking post-season baseball run underscores the immense value of our sports programming, as well as the broader competitive advantage we have built through our other leadership positions in entertainment and news. We also continue to excel creatively, with our television studio producing the number one series on six networks, FX Networks leading all networks in Golden Globe wins and our film studio recognized with 7 Academy Award nominations. Additionally, during the quarter we announced an offer to purchase the approximate 61% interest in Sky we do not already own. We expect the transaction will generate significant adjusted earnings per share and free cash flow accretion and it provides clarity on our near-term capital allocation priorities.”

Dish Network chairman and CEO Charlie Ergen told analysts and reporters Wednesday that he hopes  President-elect Donald Trump will take a softer approach to regulatory issues in the communications business, adding that given his voter base, the new Administration could help bring greater connectivity to rural parts of the country.

Trump won a stunning upset Tuesday over Democrat Hillary Clinton and has spoken critically of big media mergers during the campaign – he said he would block the AT&T-Time Warner merger and said the Comcast-NBC Universal merger concentrated too much power. While his ultimate stance on big media and mergers will depend on who he picks to head key regulatory agencies like the Dept. of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission, Ergen said that position could change with time.

“You always have to take it seriously what someone who is running for President says,” Ergen said on a conference call with analysts and reporters to discuss third quarter results. “Any candidate would reserve the right to change their mind if they had different facts. The regulatory process is probably as unknown as it was before the election.”  

Ergen added he expects Trump to tread lightly on regulatory issues like Net Neutrality.

“In general I think the Republican leadership, both in the Congress and the Executive Branch and potentially the Supreme Court will have a lighter hand with regulation,” Ergen said. “You may see Net Neutrality challenged or weakened going forward. The same people that voted in the election are going to say ‘I want to be treated fairly’ and ‘I don’t want to be gouged.’ You’re going to see a balance there.”

That voter base – a large percentage of which is in rural areas that have less access to broadband, might also benefit from Trump’s Administration.

“You’ve got a lot of potential policy positives for business in general,” Ergen said. “Those companies that might have capex, whether it be satellites or networks or connectivity to Rural America or connectivity to inner cities.Dish is positioned in those areas should this Administration decide to go that route, which I think there is a  high likelihood they will. This was an election about the haves and the have-nots. The have-nots voted for Donald Trump. Rural America doesn’t have much connectivity.”           

Presidential nominees Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are in a "dead heat," according to the latest ABC News/Washington Post tracking poll, released early Wednesday (Nov. 2).

Each had 46% of likely voters, compared with Clinton's 50% to Trump's 38% only Oct. 23. A majority of voters (55%) still expect Clinton to win, but that was down 5 points from last week.

The closeness of that poll was drawing a lot of attention, coming only days after FBI director James Comey made the controversial call to publicly announce the bureau was looking at some new e-mails--from top Clinton aide Huma Abedin, that might be relevant to its previously closed investigation into Clinton's use of a private e-mail server.

Six out of 10 likely voters disapproved of the way Clinton had responded to the e-mail issue.

But ABC also pointed out that Mitt Romney was ahead of Barack Obama in a similar 2012 tracking poll a week before the election, as was John Kerry versus George Bush.

The survey found Clinton had lost ground in the "more honest than Trump" department, down 14 points with independents, 13 points with moderates and 10 points with Democrats, changes that could be related to the Comey announcement, ABC said.

The poll was conducted by landline and cell phone Oct. 28-31 in both English and Spanish among a random sample of 1,182 likely voters. the margin of error is plus or minus 3 points.

In the wake of Hillary Clinton's tough week in the media, when FBI director James Comey's announcement of no criminal charges over the presumptive Democratic nominee's handling of email while Secretary of State was accompanied by some harsh criticisms, Republican nominee Donald Trump has gained support in the key battleground states of Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

That is according to a new Quinnipiac University swing state poll, which found that Clinton has lost all of an eight-point lead in Florida since a June 21 survey, with Trump now leading in the state 42% to 39%. Trump is also leading in Pennsylvania and is tied with Clinton in Ohio, where Trump is hoping for an endorsement from Gov. John Kasich, which could boost that number.

Given the margin of error, those states are all essentially dead heats at the moment.  

"While there is no definite link between Clinton's drop in Florida and the U.S. Justice Department decision not to prosecute her for her handling of emails, she has lost ground to Trump on questions which measure moral standards and honesty," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll.

Nationally, Clinton's lead has shrunk to 3 percentage points -- 42% to 39% -- and she fell below 50% for the first time in a year, according to a new McClatchy/Marist poll.

Related: Trump, Clinton in Dead Heat in Swing States.

Fox News Channel continues to score political ratings points, whether with Republican debates or the primaries and caucuses that continue to winnow the field.

The news net set a ratings record for a South Carolina primary, according to Fox News and based on Nielsen numbers.

Its primary coverage Saturday night (Feb. 20), which saw Donald Trump solidify his front-runner status in early contests (2 out of 3) and Jeb Bush exit the race after coming in fourth, averaged 3.3 million viewers and 588,000 in the key 25-54 news demo.

Coverage was anchored by Brett Baier and Megyn Kelly, who have also been doing much of the heavy lifting (along with Chris Wallace) on the debates.

CNN was a distant second in viewers with 1.9 million, but neck and neck in the demo with 567,000. MSNBC was in third with 1 million viewers and 243,000 in the demo, according to Nielsen.

FNC was also tops in total viewers with its coverage of the Nevada caucus earlier in the day with 1.6 million viewers to CNN's 1.1 million. But CNN was tops in the demo with 297,000 to Fox's 225,000.

Fox was also tops in New Hampshire primary coverage.