ITV

Tag: Fox Studios

  • Fox beat analyst expectations in fiscal Q2 earning

    Fox beat analyst expectations in fiscal Q2 earning

    MUMBAI– Fox Corporation reported financial results for the three months ended December 31, 2019.

     The Company reported total quarterly revenues of $3.78 bn, a 5 per cent increase from the $3.58 bn of revenues in the prior year quarter. This increase includes affiliate revenue growth of 7 per cent, reflecting growth at both the Television and Cable Network Programming segments, and advertising revenue growth of 1%, which was achieved despite the comparative effect of record political advertising revenues from the mid-term elections at the Company’s owned and operated television stations in the prior year quarter.

    The Company also reported a 32 per cent increase in other revenues, led by growth at the Cable Network Programming segment and higher revenues at the Other, Corporate and Eliminations segment attributable to the operation of the FOX Studios Lot for third parties and the consolidation of Credible Labs Inc.

    Quarterly net income increased to $314 million from the $24 million in the prior year quarter, primarily due to unrealized gains recognized in other, net related to changes in the fair values of the Company’s investments in Roku, Inc. and The Stars Group Inc., partially offset by higher operating, selling, general and administrative and net interest expenses. The increases in selling, general and administrative and net interest expenses primarily reflect higher costs related to FOX operating as a standalone public company following the Distribution.

    Quarterly net income attributable to Fox Corporation stockholders increased to $300 million ($0.48 per share) compared to $8 million ($0.01 per share) in the prior year quarter. Quarterly Adjusted EBITDA2 of $261 million was lower than the prior year quarter, primarily due to lower contributions at the Television segment. Adjusted net income attributable to Fox Corporation stockholders3 was $64 million ($0.10 per share), lower than the $268 million ($0.43 per share) adjusted result in the prior year quarter.

    Commenting on the results, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Lachlan Murdoch said: “Our results reaffirm that Fox Corporation is delivering on the operational and financial objectives that we established less than twelve months ago. 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.”

  • Are you a Secret Keeper yet?

    Are you a Secret Keeper yet?

    MUMBAI: When you are passionate about something, success is inevitable. An initiative that was born out of such love and care, a movement that was long overdue in India – #StarMoviesSecretScreening. The reason for its success is testimony to the power and drive of its Secret Keepers – the elite community of movie lovers from across the country.

     

    The initiative began a few months ago and its first installment saw Star Movies launch the first ever #StarMoviesSecretScreening communication only on social media with one intention – celebrate good cinema with a great experience.

     

    The first #StarMoviesSecretScreening showcased ‘The Maze Runner’, two weeks before the international release starting off the cult movie movement. They repeated the experience again with another Hollywood masterpiece – ‘The Gone Girl’.

     

    Now in its third edition the secret was bigger than ever, the experience; grander than before. #StarMoviesSecretScreening along with Fox Studios treated the Secret Keepers to the cinematic brilliance of Ridley Scott’s EXODUS – a journey that set the screen ablaze on 3rd December 2014 in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. This film is an interpretation of the exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt as led by Moses and related to the Old Testament Book of Exodus.

     

    The movie starring Christian Bale, Ben Kingsley and other mighty actors narrates the epic story of one man’s courage to take on the might of an empire. The Secret Keepers were thrilled to be a part of this journey and their love parted the twitter feeds as #StarMoviesSecretScreening was trending nationally.

     

    On the occasion, Kevin Vaz, General Manager – English Cluster, Star India said, “At Star Movies we’ve always tried to create new and exciting experiences for our viewers. The Secret Screening was a result of great consumer insight meeting the perfect idea. We’ve had great response from our Secret Keepers and we are certain that this property will continue to intrigue and thrill audiences.”

     

    Shikha Kapur, CMO, Fox Star Studios India, added – “Exodus: Gods and Kings is as epic a movie as it gets. Mounted on a lavish scale with some stunning visual display, soldered with top notch performances from a solid cast, and with the solid reins in the hands of the master director Ridley Scott, this film has had audiences waiting for its release with peaking anticipation.

     

    #StarMoviesSecretScreening was just the right platform to debut this colossal movie experience with the legions of fans across cities. May the tribe of Secret Keepers flourish! We are confident that Fox Star Studios will be there at every secret screening, enthralling and exciting all, with our cinema.”

                                                                                                                                                                                              

    Secret Keepers rejoice. Our journey has just begun. Together, we shall and we will build our brotherhood, one secret at a time.

     

    #StarMoviesSecretScreening… Ssshhhh… it’s still the best kept secret!

     

  • One more feather in Star’s English GEC cap

    One more feather in Star’s English GEC cap

    MUMBAI: Not content with having a clutch of channels firmly ensconced in the English entertainment space, Star India is gearing up to add one more English GEC to its existing bouquet.

    Titled STAR World Premiere HD, the channel will debut on the Star network on 24 September. It will cater to a super premium audience aka global Indians by airing the biggest US shows from the biggest studios like FOX Studios, Warner, Disney and Sony in a cluster of 26 episodes.

    Speaking about its TG, STAR India business head Kevin Vaz said: “We thought there is a certain super premium kind of audience, which is very up-to-date with global trends. And I would like to call it more as global Indian.”
    We want to eliminate the concept of a release gap between US and India says confident Kevin Vaz

    “They know the space in terms of luxury goods, technology, entertainment needs etc. When it comes to television, many channels have a longer gap from the US release. So how do we satisfy this audience? We thought this would be a good opportunity to give them entertainment on a daily basis.”

    Spelling out who constitutes its TG, Vaz said: “It is the most premium audience in India, comprising the one per cent of top SEC, A+ and between the age group of 20 to 35.”

    With Star reaching out to 67 per cent of the total English audience, STAR World Premiere HD will air four hours of original content every day,Monday to Friday. Saturday and Sunday will see a lot of catch-ups with the channel planning to air drama and comedy-based shows, respectively.

    The newbie’s proposition reads: ‘Watch with the World’ for it will air shows on television that are playing in the US at the same time and will play in India within the same week. “We want to eliminate the concept of a release gap between US and India,” Vaz pointed out.

    So, shows including Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, The Blacklist, Betrayal, Dads, The Goldbergs, The Michael J. Fox Show, Mom and Sleepy Hollow will be telecast on television for the first time both in the US and in India. While audiences here will get to see the latest seasons of shows such as The Simpsons (S25), New Girl (S3), Revolution (S2) , Two & A Half Men (S11), White Collar (S5), Sons of Anarchy (S6), Revenge (S3), Person of Interest (S3), New Girl (S3), The Neighbors (S2), Last Man Standing (S3), Modern Family (S5), Homeland (S3), It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (S9), Castle (S6) and Criminal Minds (S9).

    The network will aggressively promote the new channel through digital and on-air. For starters, the Facebook page boasts 1,221 likes and is being kept up-to-speed with pictures, videos, polls and all the hot goss, even sharing links with official pages of the various shows aired on the channel. So also the official twitter handle of the channel @SWPremiere was abuzz with nearly 188 tweets from over 521 followers at the time of penning this article. It also has the hash tag #WatchWithTheWorld.

    Its main website http://premiere.starworld.in/ is also decked up with pictures of the biggest shows.

    But will the network tie-up with other network channels as well? “At the end of the day, through our star network channels, we will reach out to most of our audiences. I don’t think we need to go outside the kind of network that Star network has,” said a confident Vaz

    On the other hand, planners feel that the channel is not going to be a typical advertising model. Agreeing on this, Helios Media managing director Divya Radhakrishnan states: “In today’s time, people download all the latest shows on the internet and then watch it, because they are not able to watch seasons parallel happening in the US. So it is a good move by the network, which is trying to attribute this small bunch of audiences who are doing that.”

    Radhakrishnan feels that the advertising GRPs will be very small for the newbie. She says: “The network is trying to address those audiences and people who download from net and will be open to subscription model. They will go more for the subscription model revenue driven rather than advertising one. The way they are advertising is watch it along with the America. So whatever shows is getting premiered in America, you don’t have to wait for it to come to India and you don’t have to download it from the net and they will air it. So that is their USP.”

    This is the fourth English GEC from the STAR Network stable after STAR World, FOX Crime and FX.

  • Ridley Scott returns with Prometheus sequel

    Ridley Scott returns with Prometheus sequel

    MUMBAI: Fox Studios and Ridley Scott are teaming up again for the sequel of the 2012 Sci-Fi hit thriller Prometheus. While Prometheus which raked in $403 million worldwide in 2012 was supposedly a prequel to the 1979 super hit Alien, directed by Scott himself.
     
    Ridley Scott to dives back into space with sci-fi blockbuster sequel Prometheus 2.

    As per reports Scott it is still uncertain whether he would be helming the outer space thriller but the sequel will be produced by Scott‘s in house banner Scott Free Productions. Also talks of roping in Jack Palgen (Transcendence) to write the follow-up story for the sequel is in process.
     
    The original was written by Jon Spaihts and Damon Lindelof and a new sceenwriter on board would apparently be a good sign for the studio, who were wary of the last instalment despite its box office success.
     
    The original‘s lead, Noomi Rapace and Michael Fassbender are also expected to return.
     
    Not revealing much about the plot Scott clarified in interviews that while the first Prometheus had several elements linking it to his previous Alien franchise, this latest installment will have a standalone story.
     
    Palgen who is represented by ICM Partners and Madhouse Entertainment would mark his second high-profile project following Wally Pfister and Johnny Depp‘s sci-fi thriller Transcendence, which opens in April 2014.

  • London Paris New York’s overseas BO collections

    London Paris New York’s overseas BO collections

    MUMBAI: London Paris New York has collected $53,535 in the US, ?32,538 in UK and $112,000 in the Middle East in its opening weekend, Fox Studios India said.

    According to Indiantelevision.com‘s estimates, the movie that released on 2 March netted Rs 34 million in India in its first weekend. The Anu Menon-directed film starring Ali Zafar and Aditi Rao Hydari released on 2 March.

    Produced by Goldie Behl under his banner Rose Movies, the film has been distributed by Fox Star Studios, India.

    Said Fox Studios India CEO Vijay Singh, “London Paris New York is a small budget film that was targeted at a niche audience. We are happy that the film is being so well received, especially by audiences it was made for – having kept the budget under control, we‘ve managed to deliver on that front and we couldn‘t be more excited.”

  • Anupam Kher to set up acting school in Sydney

    Anupam Kher to set up acting school in Sydney

    MUMBAI: Spreading wings, Anupam Kher has announced the setting up of his acting school in Australia.

    To be known as Actor Prepares Australia, the school will be based at Fox Studios in Sydney. Actor Prepares already has branches in the US and the UK.

    Kher said, “We are planning to launch the school in London and Durban around August and the school in Sydney is scheduled to begin functioning by October”.

    Kher has also entered into alliances with other film organisations in Australia. The tie-ups include the rights to host the inaugural Global Debut Acting Awards named Thespis. The awards, said to be Kher‘s brainchild, will honour debut performances in various categories across the world.

    While Kher will also be the first ambassador for the Indian International Film Festival and Awards being organised by Sydney-based Events Temple company this year, Australia‘s famous TV personality and film administrator Peter Castaldi will be the festival manager.

    After the inaugural awards in Australia, the annual ceremony is slated to travel around the globe on the lines of IIFA.