ITV

Tag: The Martian

  • De-mon contributes to lower international ad revenue at 21st Century Fox

    BENGALURU: Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox (TFC-Fox) reported five per cent decline in net income attributable to TFC-Fox stockholders (net income) for the quarter ending 31 March 2017 (Q3-17, current quarter) as compared to the corresponding periods of the previous fiscal.  The company’s Q3-17 net income was $799 million as compared to $841 million in Q3-16. As reported by us earlier, (21st Century Fox outlook on Star bullish despite $30 million DeMon Hit), TFC-Fox CFO John Nallen, in conversation with analysts had admitted that Star too ‘got affected’ from last quarter to first quarter of 2017 to the extent of $30 million.

    Demonetisation in India partially contributed to the drop in revenue in Q3-17 going by some statements in TFC-Fox’s earnings release for Q3-17. The company’s press release says: “International advertising revenue decreased 18 percent from lower advertising revenues at Star India due to the absence of the prior year broadcast of the ICC Cricket World Twenty20 matches and the effect of the Indian government demonetization initiatives on the general advertising market. Quarterly OIBDA at the international cable channels increased 44 percent from the prior year quarter primarily reflecting lower sports programming costs at STAR India and higher contributions from Fox Networks Group International (FNGI).”

    Advertising revenue in the current quarter increased 15.5 percent to $2,203 million from $1,907 million. Affiliate Fees in Q3-17 increased 7.5 percent to $3,160 million from $2,939 million in the corresponding year ago quarter. Content revenue in Q3-17 declined 9.2 percent to $2,078 million from $2,288 million in Q3-16. Other revenue increased 30.9 percent to $123 million from $94 million.

    Overall TFC-Fox revenue in the current quarter increased 4.6 percent to $7,564 million as compared to $7,228 million in Q3-16. Total operating income before depreciation and amortisation (OIBDA) for the quarter increased 3 percent to $1,938 million from $1,881 million in the year ago quarter.

    Commenting on the results, TFC-Fox executive chairmen Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch said, “We delivered a quarter marked by operational momentum and strong domestic affiliate fee growth. We continue to demonstrate our ability to capture opportunities to grow distribution of our domestic portfolio of video brands, whether through established MVPD partners or new digital entrants such as Hulu’s recently launched live television service. We made progress in the quarter against our key strategic priorities, exemplified by our creative successes across screens, from theatrical releases Logan and Hidden Figures to new FX debuts of Legion, Feud and Taboo. Our proposed combination with Sky, which was recently approved unconditionally by the European Commission, will advance another of our strategic priorities, driving innovation for customers. We remain confident the proposed transaction will be approved by the end of the calendar year following a thorough review process.”

    Three segments contribute to TFC-Fox numbers: Cable Network Programming (Star India is a part of Cable Network Programming); Television; and Filmed Entertainment.

    Cable Network Programming

    Cable Network Programming quarterly segment OIBDA increased 5 percent to $1.45 billion and revenue increased 2 percent to $4.02 billion.

    Expenses were consistent with the prior year quarter as higher entertainment programming and marketing costs at FX Networks and National Geographic Channels, higher National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) rights costs at FOX Sports 1 (FS1) and higher National Basketball Association (NBA) rights costs at the regional sports networks (RSNs) wereoffset by lower sports rights costs at STAR India due to the absence of the prior year broadcast of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Cricket World Twenty20 matches.

    Domestic affiliate revenue increased 8 percent reflecting continued contractual rate increases led by Fox News, FS1, the RSNs and FX Networks. Domestic advertising revenue was flat over the prior year period as the impact of higher ratings at Fox News and FS1 was offset by lower revenues at the National Geographic Partners businesses. Domestic OIBDA contributions were equal to the prior year quarter as higher contributions from Fox News were offset by lower contributions from FX Networks and National Geographic Channels.

    International affiliate revenue increased 5 percent driven by local currency growth of 7 percent partially offset by negative currency impacts from the strengthened U.S. dollar. International advertising revenue decreased 18 percent from lower advertising revenues at Star India due to the absence of the prior year broadcast of the ICC Cricket World Twenty20 matches and the effect of the Indian government demonetization initiatives on the general advertising market. Quarterly OIBDA at the international cable channels increased 44 percent from the prior year quarter primarily reflecting lower sports programming costs at STAR India and higher contributions from Fox Networks Group International.

    TELEVISION

    Television reported quarterly segment OIBDA of $190 million, an increase of 52 percent as compared to the prior year quarter driven by 30 percent revenue growth reflecting increased advertising revenue and continued growth of retransmission consent revenues.

    Quarterly advertising revenues grew 39 percent from the corresponding period of the prior year driven by the broadcast of Super Bowl LI and the inclusion of one additional National Football League divisional playoff game, partially offset by the impact from lower general entertainment ratings, led by the absence of American Idol, which concluded its final season in the prior year. The segment results also included higher sports programming costs associated with the broadcast of Super Bowl LI and the additional National Football League divisional playoff game.

    FILMED ENTERTAINMENT

    Filmed Entertainment generated quarterly segment OIBDA of $373 million, a $97 million decrease from the $470 million reported in the same period a year-ago. The OIBDA decrease in the current quarter was driven primarily by lower film studio contributions reflecting difficult comparisons to last year’s strong worldwide theatrical performance of Deadpool and the home entertainment performance of The Martian, partially offset by higher television production contributions from higher subscription video-on demand revenues led by the licensing of The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story and higher network revenue.

    Quarterly segment revenues decreased $65 million to $2.26 billion, primarily reflecting lower worldwide theatrical and home entertainment revenues partially offset by higher television production revenues. Quarterly results also included the successful theatrical performances of both Logan and Hidden Figures, which have grossed approximately $600 million and $230 million in worldwide box office, respectively.

  • ‘The Martian’ to premiere on Star Movies

    ‘The Martian’ to premiere on Star Movies

    MUMBAI: The human spirit is stronger than anything that can happen to it, but sometimes, life takes you on a rollercoaster ride that tests your perseverance. This underlying thought has been captured by the acclaimed director Ridley Scott in the movie The Martian starring Matt Damon. The Martian will premiere for the first time on 9 October at 1pm and 9 pm.

    Based on the best-selling book by Andy Weir, The Martian chronicles the story of an astronaut, Mark Watney, who is mistakenly presumed dead and is left behind by his crew on planet Mars, but is later found to have survived the fierce storm. Faced with isolation and fear, the astronaut learns to survive on the hostile planet all by himself. He uses his ingenuityand wit to find a way to communicate back to Earth and what follows are a series of efforts made by NASA to bring him back alive.

    The Martian gives audiences a glimpse into space while narrating the saga of a man’s fight to never give up and adapt to his surroundings. The film earned two Golden Globe Awards and received seven nominations at the 88 Academy Awards.

  • ‘The Martian’ to premiere on Star Movies

    ‘The Martian’ to premiere on Star Movies

    MUMBAI: The human spirit is stronger than anything that can happen to it, but sometimes, life takes you on a rollercoaster ride that tests your perseverance. This underlying thought has been captured by the acclaimed director Ridley Scott in the movie The Martian starring Matt Damon. The Martian will premiere for the first time on 9 October at 1pm and 9 pm.

    Based on the best-selling book by Andy Weir, The Martian chronicles the story of an astronaut, Mark Watney, who is mistakenly presumed dead and is left behind by his crew on planet Mars, but is later found to have survived the fierce storm. Faced with isolation and fear, the astronaut learns to survive on the hostile planet all by himself. He uses his ingenuityand wit to find a way to communicate back to Earth and what follows are a series of efforts made by NASA to bring him back alive.

    The Martian gives audiences a glimpse into space while narrating the saga of a man’s fight to never give up and adapt to his surroundings. The film earned two Golden Globe Awards and received seven nominations at the 88 Academy Awards.

  • Q2-2016: 21st Century Fox reports flat revenue, operating income up 2.1%

    Q2-2016: 21st Century Fox reports flat revenue, operating income up 2.1%

    BENGALURU: Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox Inc (Fox) reported almost flat YoY (down 0.7 per cent) adjusted revenue of $7,375 million in the quarter ended 31 December, 2015 (Q2-2016, current quarter) as compared to the $7,424 million in the corresponding prior year quarter.

    Adjusted Operating Income (OIBDA) in the current quarter increased 2.1 per cent YoY at $1,730 million as compared to $1,695 million. The company says that the decline compared to last year’s adjusted revenues reflects higher affiliate and advertising revenues at the Cable Network Programming and Television segments that were more than offset by lower revenues generated at the Filmed Entertainment segment due to lower home entertainment revenues and the absence of revenues from Shine in the current quarter. The adverse impact of foreign exchange rates in the current quarter impacted adjusted revenue growth by $207 million, or three per cent in total.

    According to Fox, the YoY increase in adjusted OIBDA compared to last year’s adjusted OIBDA primarily reflects eight per cent growth at the company’s Cable Network Programming segment partially offset by reduced contributions from the Filmed Entertainment segment. The adverse impact of foreign exchange rates impacted adjusted OIBDA growth by $109 million, or six per cent.

    Commenting on the results, Fox executive chairmen Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch said, “During the quarter, our cable business continued to drive our growth, delivering sustained increases in domestic affiliate fees and gains in advertising revenue, underscoring the power of our global brands and distinctive programming. In addition, we are encouraged by progress at the Fox Broadcast Network, which delivered significant advertising gains from both our sports and entertainment programming. At our television production business, we deliberately invested in a higher number of new original series this quarter in support of the network’s new primetime schedule and in creating valuable long-term assets for the company. We continued with our top priority of delivering standout storytelling and are proud of our industry-leading Academy Award nominations as well as Golden Globe wins across both our film and television businesses.”

    Cable Network Programming

    Cable Network Programming quarterly segment OIBDA increased eight per cent to $1.25 billion, driven by a nine per cent revenue increase on strong affiliate revenue growth and higher advertising revenues partially offset by a 10 per cent increase in expenses. The increase in expenses was primarily due to the impact from the consolidation of newly acquired National Geographic Partners businesses as well as higher planned sports programming costs led by soccer, Major League Baseball and college football rights. Foreign exchange fluctuations, primarily in Latin America and Europe, adversely impacted segment OIBDA growth by five per cent.

    Domestic affiliate revenue increased 10 per cent reflecting continued strong growth at FS1 and Fox News and sustained growth across all of the other domestic cable networks. Domestic advertising revenue grew three per cent over the prior year period reflecting solid growth at Fox News and the Regional Sports Networks, led by higher ratings for National Basketball Association games, partially offset by lower advertising revenues at FX Networks from lower ratings. Domestic OIBDA contributions increased seven per cent over the prior year led by higher contributions from Fox News and the domestic sports channels.

    International affiliate revenue decreased one per cent as 11 per cent local currency growth at Star and the Fox International Channels (FIC) was more than offset by a 12 per cent adverse impact from the strengthened US dollar. Despite an 11 per cent adverse impact from the strengthened US dollar, international advertising revenue increased 15 per cent as the Star and FIC channels generated strong local currency growth. Quarterly OIBDA at the international cable channels increased eight per cent reflecting strong local currency growth partially offset by the adverse impact of the strengthened US dollar.

    Television

    Television generated quarterly segment OIBDA of $279 million, an $11 million decrease over the $290 million reported in the prior year quarter. Quarterly segment revenues were six per cent higher than the corresponding period in the prior year due to strong retransmission consent revenue growth and a four per cent increase in advertising revenues, primarily reflecting low double digit
    advertising growth at the Fox Broadcast Network, which benefited from higher national pricing and increased audiences for both the National Football League and the new primetime schedule led by Empire, partially offset by lower cyclical political advertising revenues at the TV stations. The decrease in segment OIBDA was driven by higher contractual sports programming costs at the Fox Broadcast Network that more than offset the higher revenues.

    Filmed Entertainment

    Filmed Entertainment generated quarterly segment OIBDA of $302 million, a $34 million decrease from the $336 million reported in the same period a year-ago. Quarterly segment revenues decreased $392 million to $2.36 billion, primarily due to lower worldwide home entertainment revenues reflecting difficult comparisons to last year’s strong performance of X-Men: Days of Future Past and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes with this year’s home entertainment performance of Spy, the absence of revenue contributions from Shine and the adverse impact of the strengthened US dollar partially offset by higher television production network revenues. The OIBDA decline over the prior year primarily reflects lower contributions from the television production business due to higher deficits related to more new series delivered during the quarter and the absence of contributions from successful series that concluded in the prior year, including Sons of Anarchy, partially offset by higher film studio contributions driven by the worldwide theatrical performance of The Martian, which has grossed over $600 million in worldwide box office to date. Segment OIBDA comparisons were also adversely impacted by a 14 per cent negative impact from foreign exchange rate fluctuations.

  • Q2-2016: 21st Century Fox reports flat revenue, operating income up 2.1%

    Q2-2016: 21st Century Fox reports flat revenue, operating income up 2.1%

    BENGALURU: Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox Inc (Fox) reported almost flat YoY (down 0.7 per cent) adjusted revenue of $7,375 million in the quarter ended 31 December, 2015 (Q2-2016, current quarter) as compared to the $7,424 million in the corresponding prior year quarter.

    Adjusted Operating Income (OIBDA) in the current quarter increased 2.1 per cent YoY at $1,730 million as compared to $1,695 million. The company says that the decline compared to last year’s adjusted revenues reflects higher affiliate and advertising revenues at the Cable Network Programming and Television segments that were more than offset by lower revenues generated at the Filmed Entertainment segment due to lower home entertainment revenues and the absence of revenues from Shine in the current quarter. The adverse impact of foreign exchange rates in the current quarter impacted adjusted revenue growth by $207 million, or three per cent in total.

    According to Fox, the YoY increase in adjusted OIBDA compared to last year’s adjusted OIBDA primarily reflects eight per cent growth at the company’s Cable Network Programming segment partially offset by reduced contributions from the Filmed Entertainment segment. The adverse impact of foreign exchange rates impacted adjusted OIBDA growth by $109 million, or six per cent.

    Commenting on the results, Fox executive chairmen Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch said, “During the quarter, our cable business continued to drive our growth, delivering sustained increases in domestic affiliate fees and gains in advertising revenue, underscoring the power of our global brands and distinctive programming. In addition, we are encouraged by progress at the Fox Broadcast Network, which delivered significant advertising gains from both our sports and entertainment programming. At our television production business, we deliberately invested in a higher number of new original series this quarter in support of the network’s new primetime schedule and in creating valuable long-term assets for the company. We continued with our top priority of delivering standout storytelling and are proud of our industry-leading Academy Award nominations as well as Golden Globe wins across both our film and television businesses.”

    Cable Network Programming

    Cable Network Programming quarterly segment OIBDA increased eight per cent to $1.25 billion, driven by a nine per cent revenue increase on strong affiliate revenue growth and higher advertising revenues partially offset by a 10 per cent increase in expenses. The increase in expenses was primarily due to the impact from the consolidation of newly acquired National Geographic Partners businesses as well as higher planned sports programming costs led by soccer, Major League Baseball and college football rights. Foreign exchange fluctuations, primarily in Latin America and Europe, adversely impacted segment OIBDA growth by five per cent.

    Domestic affiliate revenue increased 10 per cent reflecting continued strong growth at FS1 and Fox News and sustained growth across all of the other domestic cable networks. Domestic advertising revenue grew three per cent over the prior year period reflecting solid growth at Fox News and the Regional Sports Networks, led by higher ratings for National Basketball Association games, partially offset by lower advertising revenues at FX Networks from lower ratings. Domestic OIBDA contributions increased seven per cent over the prior year led by higher contributions from Fox News and the domestic sports channels.

    International affiliate revenue decreased one per cent as 11 per cent local currency growth at Star and the Fox International Channels (FIC) was more than offset by a 12 per cent adverse impact from the strengthened US dollar. Despite an 11 per cent adverse impact from the strengthened US dollar, international advertising revenue increased 15 per cent as the Star and FIC channels generated strong local currency growth. Quarterly OIBDA at the international cable channels increased eight per cent reflecting strong local currency growth partially offset by the adverse impact of the strengthened US dollar.

    Television

    Television generated quarterly segment OIBDA of $279 million, an $11 million decrease over the $290 million reported in the prior year quarter. Quarterly segment revenues were six per cent higher than the corresponding period in the prior year due to strong retransmission consent revenue growth and a four per cent increase in advertising revenues, primarily reflecting low double digit
    advertising growth at the Fox Broadcast Network, which benefited from higher national pricing and increased audiences for both the National Football League and the new primetime schedule led by Empire, partially offset by lower cyclical political advertising revenues at the TV stations. The decrease in segment OIBDA was driven by higher contractual sports programming costs at the Fox Broadcast Network that more than offset the higher revenues.

    Filmed Entertainment

    Filmed Entertainment generated quarterly segment OIBDA of $302 million, a $34 million decrease from the $336 million reported in the same period a year-ago. Quarterly segment revenues decreased $392 million to $2.36 billion, primarily due to lower worldwide home entertainment revenues reflecting difficult comparisons to last year’s strong performance of X-Men: Days of Future Past and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes with this year’s home entertainment performance of Spy, the absence of revenue contributions from Shine and the adverse impact of the strengthened US dollar partially offset by higher television production network revenues. The OIBDA decline over the prior year primarily reflects lower contributions from the television production business due to higher deficits related to more new series delivered during the quarter and the absence of contributions from successful series that concluded in the prior year, including Sons of Anarchy, partially offset by higher film studio contributions driven by the worldwide theatrical performance of The Martian, which has grossed over $600 million in worldwide box office to date. Segment OIBDA comparisons were also adversely impacted by a 14 per cent negative impact from foreign exchange rate fluctuations.

  • Viacom18 to simulcast Golden Globes on Colors Infinity, Vh1 & Comedy Central

    Viacom18 to simulcast Golden Globes on Colors Infinity, Vh1 & Comedy Central

    MUMBAI: Viacom18’s three channels Colors Infinity, Vh1 and Comedy Central are all set to kick-start this year’s international awards fever by airing the 73rd Annual Golden Globe Awards in India.

     

    The evening will be simulcast across all three channels straight from Beverly Hills, California on 11 January at 7.30 am with a primetime repeat at 9 pm.

     

    While this is the first time for Colors Infinity and Comedy Central to air the prestigious awards, Vh1 will be airing the Golden Globe Awards for the fifth time in a row with Erstwhile Golden Globe winner, Ricky Gervais returning with his sensational humour as host for the third consecutive year.

     

    Viacom 18 EVP and business head English entertainment Ferzad Palia said, “After airing the prestigious and critically acclaimed Golden Globe Awards on Vh1 for four years in a row, we are excited to present yet another edition of the Golden Globes; this time, across all our English Entertainment channels. All nominees are well-deserving and we are especially happy with Colors Infinity’s show Mr. Robot leading the television nominations. With the 73rd Annual Golden Globe Awards, we kick start the year with one of the most glamorous and prestigious awards on television.”

     

    Carol leads the race this year in the films category with a maximum of five nominations. The other major nominations include Mad Max – Fury Road, Brooklyn and The Martian. The evening will witness a fight for the coveted award by actors such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, Kate Winslet, Will Smith, Matt Damon, Al Pacino and Jennifer Lawrence, to name a few.

     

    Two time golden-globe award winner Denzel Washington will be honoured with 2016 Cecil B. DeMille Award for his outstanding contribution both on screen and behind the camera. His achievements as a filmmaker and a performer have earned him a total of seven nominations across the years.

     

    In the television categories, Robot leads the nominations followed by shows like Game of Thrones, Orange is the New Black and Fargo.