Fox's (FOXA) third-quarter fiscal 2020 results reflect solid affiliate fee and advertising revenues.
President Donald Trump complained Monday night that Fox Corp. (NASDAQ: FOXA) (NASDAQ: FOX) was no longer the same and the network was hosting "anti-Trump people."What Happened On Fox News Fox's Neil Cavuto said on air that people needed to be careful with hydroxychloroquine. The "Your World with Neil Cavuto" host referred to a number of studies that suggest it's dangerous to take the drug as prophylaxis for COVID-19. Trump revealed he has been taking the drug, after which Cavuto commented, "That was stunning." > .@FoxNews is no longer the same. We miss the great Roger Ailes. You have more anti-Trump people, by far, than ever before. Looking for a new outlet! https://t.co/jXxsF0flUM> > -- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 19, 2020Roger Ailes was a Fox CEO and an adviser to Donald Trump's campaign, he resigned in 2016 after allegations of sexual impropriety were made by several women. Ailes died in 2017 at age 77.Why It Matters Moving Forward Trump frequently appears on Fox shows hosted by Maria Bartiromo and Sean Hannity, although this is not the first time the president has called for an alternative to Fox News.Last month Trump said, "The people who are watching [Fox News,] in record numbers (thank you President Trump), are angry. They want an alternative now. So do I!"Referencing ViacomCBS Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAC)-owned CBS's "Face the Nation" and Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA)-owned NBC host Chuck Todd in his tweet, Trump accused Fox's anchor Chris Wallace of being "nastier to Republicans than even Deface the Nation or Sleepy Eyes."> .@FoxNews just doesn't get what's happening! They are being fed Democrat talking points, and they play them without hesitation or research. They forgot that Fake News @CNN & MSDNC wouldn't let @FoxNews participate, even a little bit, in the poor ratings Democrat Debates.....> > -- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 26, 2020Photo credit: Johnny Silvercloud, FlickrSee more from Benzinga * TikTok Considers Launching Reality TV Show(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Wayfair, Planet Fitness, Fox, Etsy and Shopify as Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day
FOX News Digital finished the month of April with double digit increases versus the prior year across all key performance indicators, including multiplatform views (a 26 percent increase from April 2019), multiplatform minutes (a 19 percent increase from April 2019) and multiplatform unique visitors (a 20 percent increase from April 2019), according to Comscore. The network also yielded highs in multiplatform unique visitors (121.5 million), total multiplatform views (1.9 billion) and total multiplatform minutes (4.5 billion minutes), while its comprehensive coverage of the pandemic continued to drive traffic and engagement. This April marked the second highest month of multiplatform unique visitors, coming only behind March 2020, as well as notched the network’s fifth consecutive month with over 100 million multiplatform unique visitors. The strong performance also helped propel the FOX News Mobile App ahead of the CNN Mobile App for the 17th month in a row in unique visitors (8.7 million versus CNN’s 7.3 million).*
FOX News Channel (FNC) will host a two-hour virtual town hall with President Donald Trump on Sunday, May 3rd from 7-9 PM/ET. Co-moderated by chief political anchor and executive editor of Special Report, Bret Baier and anchor and executive editor of The Story, Martha MacCallum, the socially-distanced forum entitled America Together: Returning to Work, will take place live from the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C., where President Trump will answer viewer-submitted questions from 7:15-8:45 PM/ET.
The company's chief executive officer, Robert Thomson, who is giving up three-quarters of his annual cash bonus, said on Thursday News Corp would cut costs in all its units as it tries to limit the hit of the pandemic on its business. "The collective cuts in bonuses and other cost initiatives will have a positive impact on profitability and our cash position," Thomson said in a statement.
Nielsen, a preeminent firm that tracks media trends such as how much television programming consumers watch, recently suggested that stay-at-home orders and social quarantining could lead to a 60% jump in the media content we watch. This includes live TV, radio, gaming, time surfing the web, and even watching this content on your smartphone or tablet of choice.Newer media channels from the likes of Netflix, Amazon’s Prime service, or Hulu, are often mentioned as destinations of choice for consumers. But we still watch plenty of shows on cable TV, and this is increasingly shifting to channels that reach them more directly. I myself am almost through the last season of the Walking Dead on the AMC network.Research firm RBC Capital has noticed that shares of some more traditional providers of cable-TV content have been selling off rather dramatically lately. The drops are at least 30% and could be considered too severe. This is because these media assets still have considerable value and throw off profits that can benefit shareholders and the migration of reaching consumers more directly.We ran three media stocks which recently gotten the thumbs-up from RBC through TipRanks’ database to see whether the Street agrees with this newly positive outlook. So which three stocks RBC is re-evaluating right now? Let’s take a closer look.AMC Networks (AMCX)If I were to ask you about the value of a media company that has created hits like Mad Men, Breaking Bad, and The Walking Dead, you might think it would be pretty high. But AMC Networks’ stock is down more than 40% this year and 60% over the past year.New York-city based AMC Networks owns five entertainment programming networks: AMC, WE tv, BBC AMERICA, IFC, and SundanceTV. Its content can be viewed in 130 countries and the bulk of its sales are tied to bundled cable packages from traditional TV. But it is migrating to going directly to the consumer and hopes to create shows as popular as the hits mentioned above.In an extensive 42-page report, RBC analyst Kutgun Maral did concede that there is near term weakness: “we expect National Networks advertising revenue (32% of total company) will see material headwinds from softness across national TV ad spend given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.”However, Maral quickly acknowledges that the recent share drop seems to be extreme. The P/E ratio is ridiculously low in the low single digits.“With shares down ~46% YTD, we think there’s broad acknowledgement of the challenges AMCX faces but not a lot of appreciation for the value it is creating across SVOD, its sustainable FCF outlook, deleveraging off an already healthy balance sheet, or M&A optionality.” On the last point, with the stock being cheap and media content growing increasingly important, a larger media firm could buy the company outright.Maral also thinks AMCX “will increasingly be viewed as an attractive takeout candidate given its strong content production pedigree and studio, early traction with [going directly to the consumer], relatively attractive positioning across the linear ecosystem, and scope for cost synergies under a larger company”As a result, Maral has initiated coverage on AMC shares with an "outperform" rating and $27 price target. (To watch Maral's track record, click here)But the Street does not share this optimism — quite the contrary. Right now, AMC stock has a Hold consensus rating with only 1 recent Buy rating. This is versus 5 Hold and 1 Sell ratings. Yet, the $28.17 price target suggests a potential upside of 17% from the current share price. (See AMC stock analysis on TipRanks)Discovery, Inc (DISCA)Maryland-based Discovery owns an impressive array of media assets. First and foremost is its namesake the Discovery Channel, followed by TLC, Animal Planet, Investigation Discovery, Science Channel, MotorTrend, Food Network, the Oprah Winfrey Network, as well as other brands.Discovery’s share price decline hasn’t been as dramatic as AMCX’s, but it is still down around 30% so far this year, and has fallen 28% over the past year. This has pushed the forward P/E into the single digits, which is probably too cheap for such a collection of appealing programming and channels.RBC's Kutgun Maral also initiated coverage on Discovery with an "outperform" rating and $26 price target. Its thesis echoes that of AMC Networks – namely a growing direct-to-consumer business, steady free cash flow generation, and takeover potential.Maral believes “Discovery is demonstrably balancing its legacy revenue streams while it leans into next-gen/DTC initiatives that are scaling rapidly.” In other words, it is shifting from a model where sales come primarily from cable TV providers more to direct-to-consumer apps and channels for a monthly fee.Maral also details that Discovery generates a lot of free cash flow, has a solid balance sheet, and could end up getting bought out by a larger media company. On that last point, the analyst writes: “DISCA is the most attractive takeout candidate within traditional media. It is uniquely positioned to offer the growing number of DTC services a way to differentiate their platform with leading nonfiction and lifestyle brands that have global appeal, with content that has a low-cost profile, is fully owned, and has demonstrated strong viewer engagement with a female-skew.”Overall, Wall Street almost evenly split between the bulls and those choosing to play it safe. Based on 16 analysts polled by TipRanks in the last 3 months, 9 rate Discovery a Buy, while 7 say Hold. Notably, the 12-month average price target stands at $28.07, marking about 25% upside for the stock. (See Discovery stock analysis on TipRanks)Fox Corporation (FOXA)Similar to Discovery, Fox stock is also down about 30% so far in 2020 and over the past year. Its forward P/E is down below 12, and RBC also sees potential here.New-York-based Fox Corporation owns an impressive array of news, sports, and entertainment assets. It is perhaps best known for FOX News, FOX Business, FOX Studios movies, and an impressive array of sports channels.Lead analyst Kutgun Maral has been busy and also issued an extensive initiation coverage report on Fox with an "outperform" rating and $31 price target. While Discovery has the greatest buyout potential, Maral believes “Fox [has] the most attractive portfolio of traditional media assets across our coverage.”Similar dynamics are at play as affiliate fees paid by cable TV firms, which are 48% of Fox’s revenue, will slowly grow as consumers embrace content that can directly reach them. Advertising sales (43% of sales) will also struggle a bit as the economy struggles in the face of covid-19. But Maral sees continued steady free cash flow generation since Fox is one of the largest media players for advertisers to embrace. And sports, when it comes back, provides a very loyal viewership.Most of Wall Street is surveying the media giant from the sidelines, with TipRanks analytics demonstrating Fox as a Hold. Based on 13 analysts polled in the last 3 months, 4 rate the stock a Buy, 7 maintain a Hold, while 2 issue a Sell. The 12-month average price target stands at $32.40, marking a nearly 25% upside from where the stock is currently trading. (See Fox stock analysis on TipRanks)
Fox (FOXA) delivered earnings and revenue surprises of 29.17% and 2.51%, respectively, for the quarter ended March 2020. Do the numbers hold clues to what lies ahead for the stock?
Firm's largest sales of the 1st quarter Continue reading...
FOX News Media has partnered with Spotify, the world’s leading audio subscription streaming platform, in a new deal that will distribute FOX News Podcasts on the global audio streaming platform, announced John Sylvester, vice president of FOX News Radio (FNR). Beginning today, FNR’s catalogue featuring more than 20 original series, including three new programs slated to debut in May — The Trey Gowdy Podcast, The Proud American Podcast Series and FOX Top 5 — will be made available globally on Spotify, reaching over 286 million monthly users.
Shares of Fox Corporation (NASDAQ: FOX)(NASDAQ: FOXA) headed higher on Thursday after the company showed its business is holding up well during the COVID-19 pandemic. Both its Class A shares and Class B shares were 9% higher during early trading, before fading later in the session. What might be most surprising for investors is Fox's ad revenue, which in the third quarter of fiscal 2020 grew a whopping 44% year over year.
FOX Nation, the on demand subscription-based streaming service, will roll out a new slate of adventure programming for the month of June, including an acquisition of the hit series Duck Dynasty, a new series hosted by FOX News Channel (FNC) contributor Johnny Joey Jones and the season premiere of Brian Kilmeade’s popular historical series What Made America Great.
Amazon and its video game site Twitch will live-stream 12 NFL games for the next three seasons.
Baupost makes eBay its top holding following 60% position increase Continue reading...
Shares of media giant Fox Corporation (NASDAQ: FOX) (NASDAQ: FOXA) were falling today as investors processed more bad news stemming from the coronavirus pandemic. The broader stock market was reeling from the latest unemployment figures released today, and Fox's stock took a hit along with it. Fox Corporation's stock was down 8% as of 11:41 a.m. EDT.
If the economic slowdown continues, ViacomCBS, Fox, and Eros International could see revenue fall from reduced ad spending and lower subscriber growth.
Fox's (FOXA) third-quarter fiscal 2020 results are likely to reflect weak advertiser demand due to the pandemic crisis.
FOX Nation, the on demand, subscription streaming service designed to complement the FOX News Channel experience, is now available to Cox Contour TV customers and to Internet-only customers with the Contour Stream Player, announced John Finley, Executive Vice President of Development for FOX Nation.
Fox (FOXA) doesn't possess the right combination of the two key ingredients for a likely earnings beat in its upcoming report. Get prepared with the key expectations.
Here we take a sneak peek at five media stocks lined up to report their respective quarterly earnings this week.