Fox Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch acknowledged that Fox News hosts rendered on-air support for former President Donald Trump's spurious claim that the 2020 national election was bogus, even though they understood this assertion wasn't supported by any evidence. 

"Not Fox, no. Not Fox," Murdoch said, while testifying in January in a deposition tied to Dominion Voting System's $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox Corp. “Some of our commentators were endorsing it. They endorsed."

Murdoch's answer was in direct response to a question about Fox News personalities Sean Hannity, Jeanine Pirro, Lou Dobbs and Maria Bartiromo. 

“I would have liked us to be stronger in denouncing it in hindsight," Murdoch added. 

The New York Times has a full copy of Murdoch's deposition here.

The Fox chairman's response was perhaps the most damning yet in the suit, in which Dominion is trying to prove that Fox privately knew the rigged election claims -- and associated accusations that Dominion aided and abetted the alleged election cheating -- were bogus, yet rendered them public support, anyway. 

Further, asked by a Dominion attorney if Murdoch could have told Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott or network hosts to stop putting rigged-election proponents, including Trump lawyers Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani, on the air, Murdoch responded: “I could have. But I didn’t.”

In recent weeks, text messages sent by Fox personalities have emerged from Dominion's lawsuit, portraying Fox News' key stakeholders as cynical about the former president's claims. 

“Sidney Powell is lying by the way. I caught her. It’s insane,” Tucker Carlson is said to have texted. 

Laura Ingraham reportedly said: “Sidney is a complete nut. No one will work with her. Ditto with Rudy.”

But at the same time, these popular TV hosts were deeply concerned about the channel's ratings in the aftermath of Trump's election loss. 

Trump became incensed on election night when Fox News called the State of Arizona's vote in favor of winning President Joseph Biden ahead of most TV and digital news competitors. The former President turned against Fox News, publicly endorsing upstart far right competitor Newsmax. 

Dominion contends that the desperation to bring back lost viewership caused Fox News hosts, against their wiser, er, journalistic instincts, to get behind the former president's BS narrative. This, even despite internal warnings. 

For example, in his own deposition, Viet Dinh, Fox's chief legal officer, said he warned top Fox Corp. executives, including CEO Lachlan Murdoch, that “Hannity is getting awfully close to the line with his commentary and guests tonight.”

For its part, Fox has defended its coverage, saying it was simply reporting on the news and newsmakers of the moment. 

Reads a Fox statement provided to CNBC Monday: “Their summary judgment motion took an extreme, unsupported view of defamation law that would prevent journalists from basic reporting and their efforts to publicly smear Fox for covering and commenting on allegations by a sitting President of the United States should be recognized for what it is: a blatant violation of the First Amendment.”

If the risk of a costly settlement with Dominion weren't enough, Fox News is also dealing with the exposure of its brand as something beyond a mere cable news channel. 

An earlier deposition leak revealed Murdoch as not wanting to further alienate Trump following Fox News's fateful Arizona call, lest a nasty public feud with the former president not only hurt Fox, but also damage the Republican Party in its effort to win a Senate runoff election in Georgia. 

"Everything is at stake," Murdoch reportedly told Fox News underlings. 

Meanwhile, as widely reported on Monday, Dominion lawyers say that Murdoch provided Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, with early information on Biden campaign ads that would soon appear on Fox News. He also is said to have given Kushner information about Biden's debate strategy ahead of the now President's face-off with Trump that was moderated by former Fox News anchor Chris Wallace. 

As for Fox Corp. stock? Perhaps because they've seen Murdoch and Fox News survive this kind of ostensibly damning thing before, investors don't seem worried. Fox Corp. share prices held largely flat Monday. 

Fox Corp. and Vizio said they signed a multi-year expansion of their distribution agreement that will bring Vizio SmartCast users access to the Fox Sports app and Fox Weather.

To mark the launch of the Fox Sports app, the Vizio home screen will feature a “sports blitz” execution showcasing the live college football and NFL games airing the weekend of November 12 and 13.

The app offers live and on demand sports from Fox, FS1, FS2 and Fox Deportes, including live games and studio shows.

Fox Weather will be available as part of Vizio’s WatchFree Plus platform.

“We are pleased to extend and expand our long-standing relationship with Vizio as we bring Fox Weather and the Fox Sports app to Vizio users and provide them with greater access to our industry-leading portfolio of news, sports and entertainment,” said BJ Elias, executive VP, distribution advanced services, Fox Corporation.

Vizio already carries Fox’s Tubi, Fox Nation, and Fox Now apps, as well as Fox Soul and LiveNow on WatchFree Plus.

“Fox and Vizio have been working together for several years to bring audiences the best in entertainment. We are very pleased that our strategic relationship continues to grow, and our expanded agreement means Vizio users can enjoy a wide range of sports, live events, news and lifestyle programming for years to come,” said Katherine Pond, group VP of platform content & partnerships at Vizio. ■

Fox founder Rupert Murdoch is looking to put the band back together, combining his TV company Fox Corp. with his newspaper company, News Corp., which owns the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post.

Fox said its board of directors received a letter from Murdoch, now the 91-year-old chairman of Fox Corp., and the Murdoch Family Trust, about the possibility of a combination, and has formed a special committee of independent directors to begin exploring it.

"The Special Committee, consistent with its fiduciary duties and in consultation with its independent financial and legal advisors, will thoroughly evaluate a potential combination with News Corp. The Special Committee has not made any determination at this time, and there can be no certainty that the Company will engage in such a transaction," Fox said. 

Murdoch's son, Lachlan, is executive chairman and CEO of Fox Corp.

Murdoch's assets were all part of News Corp. until 2013, when the company split into two parts with 21st Century Fox owning its TV and movie assets and News Corp. owning its publishing business.

In 2019, Murdoch sold most of 21st Century Fox to the Walt Disney Co., for $71.3 billion, with the Fox TV network, TV stations, Fox News and Fox Sports becoming Fox Corp. ■

Rob Wade, who had been head of Fox Entertainment's alternative programming and specials, has been named CEO at Fox Entertainment, succeeding Charlie Collier, who suddenly left last month to join Roku.

“Since the formation of Fox Entertainment, Rob has been an integral part of the leadership team responsible for delivering on its long-term strategy of creating an independent media company built on broadcast, developing an owned content portfolio and maintaining a disciplined in-house infrastructure,” Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch said. “Given Rob’s sharp creative instincts and proven operational acumen, he is well-suited to lead Fox Entertainment in what promises to be an exciting next chapter in its rich history.”

Under Wade, Fox has launched successful unscripted series including The Masked Singer, Crime Scene Kitchen, LEGO Masters and Next Level Chef.

Before joining Fox, Wade was showrunner on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars and head of BBC Worldwide’s entertainment development. He was also an executive producer for The X Factor and America’s Got Talent.

“I am honored to be entrusted with leading Fox Entertainment into the future with an exceptionally talented team, whom I know very well, as we build and expand on Fox legacy of storytelling excellence, entrepreneurial energy and innovation,” Wade said. “It’s a transformative time across the global entertainment landscape, presenting limitless opportunity and, above all, creativity, making the outlook ahead bright and exhilarating.” ■

Fox Corp. has tapped Gabrielle Brown to head up investor relations as executive VP and chief investor relations officer. She succeeds Joe Dorrego, who continued in that role after he was named chief operating officer and chief financial officer of Fox News Media.

Brown reports to Fox Corp. chief financial officer Steve Tomsic, who thanked Dorrego for doing double duty since 2020, when he was tapped for the Fox News Media posts, while his successor as chief investor relations officer was found.

Dorrego continues as COO and CFO of Fox News Media.

Brown joins the company from UBS, where she had been managing director, global internet and media industries. She had previously been a portfolio manager at BBT Capital Management, where she focused on the internet, tech, media, telco and cable sectors. ■

Fox Corp. highlighted its inclusion and diversity efforts during a recent panel discussion in which talent from its news, sports and entertainment divisions cited the need for an inclusive and authentic approach to diversity issues.

Moderated by Harris Faulkner, host of Fox News Channel's The Faulkner Focus, the March 23 panel -- part of Fox Corp.’s Content Drives Commerce Brand Partnership Summit -- discussed the importance of authenticity in addressing on- and off-screen inclusion issues.

“Authenticity is the most important word when you’re talking about diversity,” Fox Sports on-air personality Joy Taylor said. “You can very much placate to diversity and check a box and create a scenario where you’re welcoming people, but if it’s not authentic, the people you are trying to include … are very quickly going to walk into the room and realize this isn’t really it.”

Miranda Kwok, creator and executive producer of drama series The Cleaning Lady, said she had concerns that distributors wouldn’t allow her to tell the story of an undocumented immigrant trying to provide for her family, but she found a willing outlet in Fox.

“I thought I was going to pitch it to cable and streaming where I thought these stories would land, but [series producer] Warner Bros. said there is a greater appetite right now for more diverse stories and different perspectives on broadcast television,” she said. “They [Fox] totally embraced the fact that it was a story about a southeast Asian woman who is an undocumented immigrant. So it’s been a very, very exciting time to have all of that support to tell a story [of someone who is] normally marginalized, pushed into the shadows and told they don’t matter."

The panel also said that the industry needs to continue to push for more diversity and inclusion in front of the camera and in the producer’s chair. “The more voices and background through diversity moving forward doesn’t just help us win, but it drives home the point that we count, especially when it's hard,” Faulkner said. “We bring something to the table that not everyone does, so let’s pull up some more chairs and create a bigger table. The power of the voice matters, and it can’t all be the same because then people begin to tune us out.”

Tammi Mac, host of talk show Business of Being Black with Tammi Mac on streaming service Fox Soul, also said that diversity needs to be the norm rather than the trend within the industry. “A lot of times when we experience a television show that’s diverse, we think of it as a trend … but that does a disservice to diversity and inclusion because that means that it's in and then it’s out,” she said. “You want to think about diversity for the long haul. This is how you will continuously include people of every race, age, gender to be a part of your program, and to tell those stories in an authentic way so that those people who are those people will be tied in.”

Also: Fox Soul's James DuBose Eyes Profit After Expanding Viewership

Joel Kuwahara, co-founder of animation production studio Bento Box -- which Fox acquired in 2019 -- added the industry has to find ways to give more opportunities to people and voices who aren’t being heard. “I personally would like to be able to help these young artists, some of these diverse voices to help make something they may not know how to make in the animated space,” he said. “It can get very complicated to do the kind of work we do, but they need an opportunity.” ■

Fox Corp. unveiled Atlas, a video technology platform that uses artificial intelligence to match commercials with contextually relevant content.

Atlas is being launched with two products. The first, Fox Navigator, focuses on contextual alignment, which puts advertisers in the right environment in real time, increasing engagement with viewers.

The second product, Fox Shield, provides brand suitability. During the upfront Fox News Media will offer Fox Shield to clients who make advertising commitments in Fox News Media digital video.

Fox announced the new products in connection with a pre-upfront meeting with advertisers in Los Angeles aimed at sharing upcoming Fox content and technology. 

“Atlas is another illustration of Fox’s commitment to providing solutions that deliver the necessary impact and outcomes for our ad partners,” said Jeff Collins, executive VP of ad sales at Fox News Media. “Contextual targeting will continue to grow in importance as third party data targeting options continue to decline. We are excited to offer advertisers greater precision when placing their ads across the FNM portfolio.”

Atlas was developed by the Fox ad technology unit. It uses artificial intelligence and on-screen visual detection to extract data that can be used to build advanced contextual segments. The data determines a video’s relevance and enables Fox to put an ad message in contextually resonant content.

“We built Atlas for the modern era,” said John Fiedler, executive VP and head of ad technology at Fox. “As the media landscape continues to evolve, traditional solutions have not served the buy-side or the sell-side well. In a world where context now matters more than ever, Atlas provides a new and precise level of insight and segmentation that will give buyers confidence when transacting with Fox.” ■

Fox Corp. reported a loss in its fiscal second quarter because of a change in the value of its investment in Flutter, the parent company of Fox Bet.

The company loss was $85 million, or 15 cents per share, compared to net income of $224 million, or 37 cents a share, a year ago.

Adjusted EBITDA increased 2% to $310 million from $305 million.

Revenue rose 9% to $4.44 billion. 

Affiliate revenue was up 11%, with 12% growth at the company’s cable network programming unit and 10% at its television segment.

Advertising revenue was up 6%. The company said pricing was strong at the Fox Network thanks to its sports portfolio, and that growth continued at Tubi.

Tubi had its best quarter ever with 3.6 billion hours streamed, up 40% from a year ago and revenue up a similar amount.

Fox’s cable networks programming reported EBITDA of $555 million, up 17% from a year ago. 

Fox’s Television segment had an EBITDA loss of $273 million, compared to a loss of $185 million a year. The company said expenses are up because of higher sports and entertainment rights amortization at the Fox Networks and increased digital investment at Tubi.

Also: Fox Acquires Iconic Animated Character Gumby and Friends

“Against the high bar we set in our fiscal second quarter last year, we have once again delivered revenue and adjusted EBITDA growth in the second quarter of our 2022 fiscal year, while continuing to invest in our digital growth initiatives,” said CEO Lachlan Murdoch. 

“These strong results and broad-based operating momentum are underpinned by the most valuable news franchise in the country, the leading live sports franchise, our top broadcast network reinforced by a strategic stations portfolio, as well as the emerging leader in AVOD. This focused portfolio is delivering consistent growth for our shareholders in a thoughtful and disciplined manner,” Murdoch said. ■ 

Lauren Townsend, who most recently has been a consultant to Hulu but has an extensive communications resume, is joining Fox Corp. as SVP, communications, based in Los Angeles, according to an e-mail to staffers from Brian Nick, Fox Corp. chief communications officer.

Her resume includes media and communications posts at Starz, where she was EVP, communications; Sony Pictures, where she was VP, media talent and relations; Warner Bros. Television, where she was a consult and interim director of drama series publicity, and NBC Universal, where she was a press manager.

"We look forward to welcoming Lauren to the FOX team," Nick told staffers. ■

Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch continues to heap accolades on Tubi, the streaming platform Fox bought for $440 million in 2020.

“The growth of Tubi continues to exceed even our best expectations for the business,” Murdoch said during Fox’s fiscal first-quarter earnings call. On previous calls, Murdoch has predicted Fox will grow to be a billion-dollar revenue business in the near future.

"In the first quarter of the fiscal year, Tubi more than doubled its revenues year over year and total view time on the platform continues to have close to 30% growth compared to last year," Murdoch said on Wednesday’s call.

In fact, this fiscal year, Tubi revenue will exceed the price Fox paid to buy the platform, he said.

Murdoch also said that Tubi’s original content strategy "is already seeing early signs of success."

Tubi has streamed four original movies this year. Two of those movies have performed so well in the quarter that they have already generated advertising revenue “well above the low production costs, meaning they are already generating a positive return,” he said.

Also: Yahoo and Tubi Expand Buyer Access to CTV Ad Inventory

Tubi’s programming is driven by data it has on its users.

"Tubi’s deep understanding of its audience is a key asset," Murdoch said. "Tubi original movies outperformed blockbuster movies available on the platform."

Also performing well on Tubi is news programming. 

“News on Tubi is drawing viewers for increasingly long periods of time. Since launching last fall, news on Tubi viewership has grown over 130%,” Murdoch said. Much of Tubi’s news content comes from its network of stations and affiliates.

Tubi will continue to take advantage of Fox’s content with premium sports channels including Fox Sports, the NFL Network, and the MLB Network.

Fox is also developing content for Tubi based on the TMZ brand, which Fox recently acquired from AT&T’s WarnerMedia.

“Fox Entertainment is focusing on bringing the TMZ brand to all parts of the Fox portfolio, including further monetizing the TMZ brand across the Fox TV stations, developing TMZ branded content for Tubi and amplifying TMZ’s digital presence,” Murdoch said.

Fox Corp. reported lower net income in its fiscal first quarter despite jump in ad revenue.

Net income dropped to $701 million, or $1.21 a share from $1.11 billion, or $183 per share, a year ago, when the company recognized a $462 million gain from a payment from The Walt Disney Co.

Revenue rose 12% to $3.05 billion.

Costs were also up as sports and other programming expenses returned to pre-pandemic levels.

Ad revenue rose 17% to $1.13 billion compared to a year ago, when COVID-19 impacted spending. The company credited the gain to growth at streaming platform Tubi, plus a full schedule of games for Fox Sports.

Affiliate revenue increased 9% to 1.667 million, with a 14% gain at Fox’s Television segment and 5% from the cable network programming group.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization at Fox’s cable network programming segment fell to $774 million from $781 million. Revenue rose to $1.4 billion from $1.3 billion.

Television segment EBITDA dropped to $359 million from $457 million. Revenue rose to $1.6 billion from $1.4 billion.

“We have made a strong start to the 2022 fiscal year with broad-based operating momentum led by the return of a full slate of live events at Fox Sports, ratings leadership at Fox News and exceptional progress at Tubi,” said CEO Lachlan Murdoch. “As audiences migrate to live news, sports and streaming, it underscores the strategy and priorities that have defined our short history at Fox. We remain focused on bolstering our core brands and leveraging the unique assets that distinguish us to further propel growth and drive value for our shareholders.” 

Fox Corp. reported higher fiscal fourth-quarter earnings.

Net income jumped to $253 million, or 43 cents a share, from $122 million, or 20 cents share a year ago. 

Revenues rose 20% to $2.89 billion.

Advertising revenue rose 38%. Ad revenues were up 51% at Fox’s television segment, and 17% at its cable networks.

Affiliate revenue rose 10%, with the TV segment up 16% and cable networks up 6%.

Cable network EBITDA was flat at $674 million as revenues rose 10% to $1.4 billion. 

Also Read: Fox News Blows Out Competition in July Ratings Race

EBITDA fell to $148 million from $169 million at Fox’s television segment as revenues rose to $1.4 billion from $1.1 billion.

“Our exceptional Fiscal 2021 financial results highlight the strength of our distinct strategy and serve as a foundation for sustained operating momentum.” said executive chairman and CEO Lachlan Murdoch.

“Despite the challenges presented by COVID, our businesses continued to inform and entertain households across the country. And in the midst of it all, we strengthened our core brands and expanded our digital capabilities, which together provide a robust platform for future growth,” Murdoch said. “We look forward to the year ahead, anticipating the return of normalized sports and entertainment calendars and the start of the midterm election cycle. Fox’s core live event programming, coupled with its growing digital businesses, will continue to deliver audiences on an unmatched scale for our advertising and distribution partners.” 

Fox Corp. has become only the latest large TMT company to renew its IP licensing deal with TiVo and its new parent company, Xperi Holdings Corp. 

“We are very pleased to conclude this agreement with Fox, a producer and distributor of content through world-leading Fox brands,” said Samir Armaly, president, IP licensing of Xperi. “Fox has always worked to bring compelling content to its customers and continues to expand its direct-to-consumer audiences and capabilities.”

The Fox announcement was preceded just a day earlier by the trumpeting of a similar IP tie-up with media agency giant Horizon Media. TiVo/Xperi said it provides Horizon with a "foundational ingredient" to its "data stack to support client investments, driving improved outcomes in cross-platform media planning, buying, digital retargeting, and measurement."

Last week, TiVo/Xperi announced a patent licensing renewal with Google. 

Xperi, which acquired TiVo in late 2019 for $3 billion, has seen an acceleration of IP licensing deals since November, when it finally settled TiVo's four-year legal battle to put Comcast under IP heel. 

Xperi reported IP licensing revenue of $98 million in the first quarter. “Media IP” was up 30% during the January-March period, with recent licensing renewals secured with Cox Communications, Sony and TCL.

Fox Corp.’s TV businesses had lower profits than a year ago, when its broadcast network had the Super Bowl, but because of a drop in the value of assets a year ago, net income jumped.

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization were $899 million, compared to $920 million a year ago for Fox's fiscal third quarter.

Revenues slid to $3.22 million from $3.44 billion a year ago. 

Net income was $567 million, or 96 cents per share, compared to $78 million, or 13 cents a share, a year ago.

Adjusted EBITDA edged up to $1.47 billion at Fox’s cable network programming unit, but fell to $1.7 billion from $1.9 billion at its television division.

Affiliate revenues rose 10%to $1.7 billion, with an 18% gain coming at the company’s television segment and 6% at its cable network programming segment.

Ad revenues were $1.2 billion, down from $1.57 billion. The loss of Super Bowl revenue was partly offset by the addition of Tubi, the streaming service Fox acquired last year.

Cable network ad revenues dropped to $283 million from $304 million a year ago. For the television division, ad revenues fell to $915 million from $1.3 billion a year ago.

“The company continues to deliver operationally and financially with our year-to-date Revenues and EBITDA pacing well ahead of last year, despite the impact of COVID and the comparison against a Super Bowl year,” said CEO Lachlan Murdoch. 

Murdoch noted a rebound in viewing at Fox News Channel and a new rights deal with the NFL. “These strategic milestones, coupled with a slate of complementary, high-growth, digital-focused assets, led by continued record growth at Tubi, provide a powerful platform to grow our business for the long-term,” he said.  

Fox Corp. reported lower earnings in its fiscal fourth quarter as the COVID-19 pandemic cut into advertising revenues.

Net income fell to $122 million, or 20 cents a share, in the fourth quarter, from $454 million, or 73 cents a share, a  year ago. 

Revenues fell 4% to $2.51 billion. 

Related: James Murdoch Resigns From News Corp. Board

Advertising revenues were down 22%. The company blamed lower local advertising at its TV stations, fewer live sports games and fewer hours of scripted programming at Fox Entertainment. Local advertising was down 35% at the stations, while Fox News ad revenues were up.

Distribution revenues were up 8%, led by Fox’s television segment.

At Fox’s cable networks, EBITDA rose 12% to $674 million from $602 million. Revenue slipped 2% to $1.27 billion from $1.3 billion. Earnings were up because of lower programming rights and production costs.  

Television EBITDA fell 21% to $169 million from $214 million a year ago. Revenue fell 6% to $1.11 billion. Ad revenues were down 29% to $184 million, despite the contributions from Tubi, which was acquired earlier this year. Affiliate revenues were up 22% thanks to increased fees from Fox affiliates and higher average rates from distributors.

“Fox delivered strong results for the fourth quarter and full fiscal year, even in spite of the unprecedented environment in which we all continue to operate, underscoring the strength of our brands and content offering,” said CEO Lachlan Murdoch. “We continue to expand the way audiences interact and connect with our brands while simultaneously diversifying and enhancing our revenue base. We entered the COVID-19 crisis on sound operational and financial footing and we expect to emerge from this pandemic more competitive, more focused and even more strongly positioned to deliver value for our viewers, partners and shareholders in the years ahead.” 

James Murdoch, the former CEO of 21st Century Fox, resigned as a director of News Corp., citing disagreements over some of the content published by the company’s news outlets and other strategic decisions.

21st Century Fox, which was sold to The Walt Disney Co. last year, was part of the empire built by mogul Rupert Murdoch, James’ father, who continues to control Fox Corp.--owner of Fox News--as well as News Corp. James Murdoch was rumored to be joining Disney after the sale. No job emerged and he left the family business when it was sold, pocketing a share of the $71 billion price tag.

In his brief resignation letter, James Murdoch did not elaborate on which content and decisions he disagreed with.

When he was with 21st Century Fox, James Murdoch was seen as wanting to tone down some of Fox News’ conservative and pro-President Trump commentary. He was involved in removing Fox News founder Roger Ailes and high rated Fox News primetime host Bill O’Reilly amid sexual harassment allegations.

His brother Lachlan Murdoch is now CEO of Fox. 

“If James Murdoch hadn’t already left Fox Corp. last year, you would have seen him quit Fox Corp. today too,” said Angelo Carusone, CEO of media watchdog Media Matters.

“It’s hard to blame him. In this year alone, Fox News has put the lives of Americans at risk spreading dangerous medical misinformation about the pandemic, prevented effective government action to save lives and the economy, stoked racial tensions by elevating and promoting white supremacists in the network, and served as a mouthpiece for Trump’s conspiracy theories and extremism,” Carusone said.  “The Murdochs’ money comes from making America sicker, weaker, more divided, and less competitive around the world. While his action of resigning alone does not absolve him of the blood on his hands caused by decades of Murdoch deceit, it’s an important step to no longer being part of the problem.” 

Overall revenue at Fox Corp. was up 5% in the fiscal second quarter to $3.78 billion, driven by strong affiliate fee growth at its cable and broadcast networks.

Overall affiliate fees rose 7% in the period to $1.4 billion, while total ad revenue was up about 1% to $2 billion. The ad revenue gain was despite tough comparisons to the prior year, which had record political ad sales because of the midterm elections.

On a segment basis, revenue at the cable networks was flat at $1.47 billion, while cash flow increased 7.1% to $556 million in the period, from $519 million in the prior year. Affiliate fee growth at the cable nets was about 2% to $957 million in the period, and advertising revenue was down 4.5% to $337 million.

At the television segment, which includes the Fox broadcast network and owned and operated TV stations, revenue was up slightly to $2.27 billion from $2.15 billion in the prior year. But affiliate fees (mostly retransmission consent revenue) was up 18% to $479 million and ad revenue rose 2.4% to $1.7 billion. The TV unit reported a loss of $214 million, up from $14 million in the prior year, mainly because of higher costs associated with the NFL and WWE Friday Night SmackDown, as well as higher programming rights amortization at Fox Entertainment.

“Our results reaffirm that Fox Corporation is delivering on the operational and financial objectives that we established less than twelve months ago,” said Fox executive chairman and CEO Lachlan Murdoch in a press release. “Our brands are exhibiting strength in a competitive marketplace and delivering healthy top-line growth as we continue to invest strategically to expand the reach of our portfolio and further diversify our revenue streams. Meanwhile, we are taking a balanced approach to capital allocation, including the return of $500 million to shareholders in the form of share repurchases since our last earnings release. Coming off an incredibly successful Super Bowl LIV and with the buildup to the November Presidential Election ahead of us, we look forward to continuing our momentum through calendar 2020.”

Fox Corp. has tapped a Trump Administration official to head up federal public policy.

Abigail Slater, who will be senior VP policy and strategy, had been special assistant to the President for technology, telecommunications and cybersecurity, advising National Economic Counsel President Larry Kudlow as well as the President.

She reports to Danny O'Brien, executive VP and head of government relations. "Abigail Slater has been a technology policy maker at the highest levels of government and industry and will use that expertise to craft and communicate Fox's policy priorities," said O'Brien.

O'Brien, once a top aide to former Vice President and now presidential candidate Joe Biden, was brought on in October as executive VP and head of government relations for the new Fox Corp.

The new Fox consists of the Fox broadcast networks, its owned stations, the Fox national sports channels and Fox News, the result of parent News Corp.'s spin off of its 21st Century Fox programming assets to Disney.

Before joining the White House, Slater had been general counsel and VP, legal and regulatory policy, for the Internet Association--whose members include Amazon, Facebook, Google, Twitter and Netflix--and, before that, was at the Federal Trade Commission as an attorney dealing with competition and antitrust issues as well as an adviser to then FTC commissioner Julie Brill.

Fox also made it official this week that Ann Bobeck has joined the team as VP for FCC legal and business affairs. B&Creported the hire in early April.

"Ann Bobeck is a national expert in broadcast regulatory matters whose deep legal and regulatory background will well serve the Fox Network and our Fox Television Stations," said O'Brien.

Fox Corp., the successor to 21st Century Fox, began trading Tuesday as a separate company, completing the distribution of outstanding shares of Fox Corp. to its shareholders earlier in the day and adding four new members to its board of directors.

Fox agreed to sell its cable networks FX, FXX and National Geographic, its 20th Century Fox film and TV production studios and its 30% interest in online video pioneer Hulu to Disney for $71.3 billion in cash and stock in July. With the share distribution complete, Fox said it is on track to officially close the Disney deal by 12:02 a.m. on March 20. 

After the Disney sale, Fox Corp. will house the remaining assets -- the Fox broadcast network, 28 television stations, and cable channels Fox News, Fox Business, FS1 and FS2 and the Big Ten Network. Fox Corp. will keep its old trading symbol (FOXA) on the NASDAQ Exchange.

Joining co-chairman Rupert Murdoch, his son Fox Corp. chairman and CEO Lachlan Murdoch and former Ford Motor Co. CEO Jacques Nasser on the board will be former 21st Century Fox chief operating officer and current Formula 1 chairman and CEO Chase Carey; former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Paul Ryan, Aragon Holdings founder Anne Dais and former Telemundo Group chief and Hernandez Media Ventures CEO and founder Roland Hernandez.

“We are thrilled to welcome our new colleagues to the Fox board," Lachlan Murdoch said in a press release. "We look forward to working with and being guided by them as we begin a new chapter, steadfastly committed to providing the best in news, sports and entertainment programming.”