by Erika Zoffer

HISTORY

21st Century Fox is one of the two companies that were created by the split of News Corporation, a multimedia company founded by media mogul, Rupert Murdock, in 1979. Last year, the company finalized the separation of its assets forming an entirely new company, News Corp, for all publishing assets and it’s successor–21st Century Fox. 21st CF inherited all broadcasting and film assets. These holdings include Fox Entertainment Group, owners of 20th Century Fox film studio and Fox television network. [2] [3]

KEY EXECUTIVES

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FINANCIALS

21st CF derives business from four main operating segments: Cable Network Programming, which consists mostly of the production and licensing of content through cable, broadcast satellite, and telecommunications providers; Television, which operates the company’s 28 full-power broadcast stations; Filmed Entertainment, the operator of the company’s various film and television production studios; and Direct Broadcast Satellite Television, which provides programming to international markets like Italy, Germany, and Austria. The company also holds equity interest in a variety of media ventures, including a roughly 39% stake in BSkyB, the British entertainment and communications provider. Through its various operations, the company relies primarily on affiliate broadcast fees, subscriptions, advertising fees, and content licensing and retransmission revenues to support the top line. [7]

[9] image provided by Latin Business Association

FILMED ENTERTAINMENT

REVENUE ROSE TO $8.42BN, A 17% INCREASE FROM THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR DUE LARGELY TO THE SUCCESS OF FILMS INCLUDING THE FAULT IN OUR STARS, X-Men: Days of Future Past, AND Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. [10]

PROVIDED BY YOUTUBE VIA 20th Century Fox

THE MAZE RUNNER– Grossing $32.5 million in ticket sales it’s opening weekend, TMR was given the green light for a sequel on November 10th. Chris Aronson, 20th Century Fox’s president of domestic distribution, declared the film “a bona fide home run.” The plot revolves around a group of boys trapped in an isolated community surrounded by a seemingly inescapable maze. The movie, staring MTV’s “Teen Wolf” heartthrob, Dylan O’Brien, is based on the book series by James Dashner. Currently still in theaters, TMR has grossed over $333.8 million worldwide, ten times the amount of it’s budget of $34 million. [11]

provided by Youtube via Jblo Movie Trailers

GONE GIRL– Another major hit from a book, this movie adapted from the best-selling mystery/crime novel by Gillian Flynn is already creating buzz about nominations for this year’s Oscar awards. Starring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike, the revenge mystery thriller has made $157 million in the U.S. and $328 million worldwide, making it the most successful flick of director David Fincher’s career. “Gone Girl” tells the story of New York writer Nick Dunne and his wife Amy, whose relationship falls apart after they move to Missouri to look after Dunne’s sick mother. When Amy goes missing, Dunne is suspected of murdering her. With a production budget of about $61 million, the movie has been a great success for 21st CF. [12]

PROVIDED BY YOUTUBE VIA JBLO MOVIE TRAILERS

BOOK OF LIFE– With a budget of $50 million, this animated action/mystery film totaled a revenue of over $17 million opening weekend. This is a major success as only 4 animated films outside of the major six (Disney/Pixar/DreamWorks/Illumination/Blue Sky/Sony Pictures Animation) in the past five years managing to exceed $20 million. The film tells the legend of a Mexican matador who sets off on an epic quest through mythical worlds in order to rescue his one true love and defend his village, a Mexican town called San Angel. Telling the story of Mexico’s “La Dia de Los Muertos” the film hold great international appeal, with the highest international release grossing $3.84 million. So far the movie has made over $86.4 million worldwide. [13]

 

[14] image provided by Fox Television Stations Group

TELEVISION

 The television segment reported a 25% decrease in revenue to $1.74 billion. [15]

GOTHAM 2014 [16] image provided by MovieCreedLive.com

GOTHAM– After premiering in September, this crime series has been considered this fall’s only success of Fox’s new shows. The series is a sort of prequel to DC Comic’s Batman, primarily featuring young Bruce Wayne and James Gordon’s early days on the Gotham city police force. The first season consisted of 16 episodes before being extended to 22. Gotham has already been nominated in three categories for the 2015 People’s Choice Awards. The Neilson ratings approximated over 8.5 million viewers of the premiere, although viewership has been on the decline to as low as 5.9 million during the 8th episode. On November 15th, Fox confirmed that there is production on a second season but whether or not it will air is still TBD. [17] [18]

 

MULANEY– “Mulaney” features a young comedian living in New York City with his comedic friends as a kind of new, younger version of “Seinfeld.” It debuted to a lowly 1.0 rating in the 18-49 demographic with 2.3 million viewers. Critics seemed to find it generally unfunny and too similar in format to Seinfeld. [19] 

 

 

RED BAND SOCIETY– To add to this season’s downfall of  new television from 21st CF, the production of “Red Band society has been halted. Though it hasn’t been officially cancelled, ratings show it following in the footsteps of the majority of the Fox lineup. Red Band Society, which follows a group of teens dealing with various medical maladies while living in a pedantic hospital ward debuted to 4 million viewers and a 1.3 in the 18-49 demographic. [22]

SATELLITE BROADCASTING

SATELLITE TELEVISION OPERATING INCOME ROSE 9 PERCENT, TO $207 MILLION.[23]

CABLE NETWORK PROGRAMMING

CABLE NETWORKS— FX, FXX, FOX NEWS CHANNEL AND OTHERS —REPORTED A 5% INCREASE IN OPERATING INCOME TO $1.04 BILLION. 21% INCREASE IN PROGRAMMING COSTS DENTED RESULTS. [24]

 

LOOKING FORWARD

A television group can make more money on a show whose rights it wholly owns, via syndication and a web of digital outlets — including mobile, subscription video and on-demand services like Netflix, Amazon and Hulu — as well as international distributors. Studios often want to sell those rights separately. 21st CF hopes to produce more Fox studio shows for the networks, beginning with the converging of its broadcasting company and studio group into one business, Fox Television Group, earlier this year. [25]

The combined growth of all of 21st Century Fox owned enterprises has put the company on a path to even greater success. In film this past year, the company has risen high in the studio ranks. The Fox television networks need at least one major new hit show in the next season in order to boost viewership back up on the entertainment channels.

SOURCES

[1] Quay, A. (2013, May 10). ’21st Century Fox’ Unveils New Logo. Retrieved November 29, 2014.

[2] Management | 21st Century Fox. (n.d.). Retrieved November 29, 2014.

[3] James, M. (2013, June 28). News Corp. divides into two companies; 21st Century Fox is born. Retrieved November 29, 2014.

[4] Rinaldi, Eva (n.d.). Retrieved November 29, 2014.

[5] Nab.com (n.d.). Retrieved November 29, 2014.

[6] Fortune. (n.d.). Retrieved November 29, 2014.

[7] Annual Reports. (n.d.). Retrieved November 29, 2014.

[8] Twenty-First Century Fox Inc. (FOXA) | Income Statement. (n.d.). Retrieved November 29, 2014.

[9] Fox Entertainment Group logo.jpg. (2014, November 25). Retrieved November 29, 2014.

[10] 21st Century Fox profits rise. (n.d.). Retrieved November 29, 2014

[11] Box Office Mojo – Movie Index, A-Z. (n.d.). Retrieved November 29, 2014.

[12] Gone Girl (2014) – Box Office Mojo. (n.d.). Retrieved November 29, 2014.

[13] The Book of Life (2014) (2014) – Box Office Mojo. (n.d.). Retrieved November 29, 2014.

[14] Fox Television Stations logo.png. (2014, November 25). Retrieved November 29, 2014

[15] 21st Century Fox TV Revenue Falls 25%. (n.d.). Retrieved November 29, 2014.

[16] ‘Gotham’ Premiere Date Revealed & Fox Announces All Fall Premiere Dates. (2014, July 10). Retrieved November 29, 2014.

[17] Bibel, S. (2014, October 14). TV Ratings Monday: ‘The Voice’ & ‘The Blacklist’ Up; ‘Gotham’ & ‘Scorpion’ Down, ‘Castle’, ‘Sleepy Hollow’ & ‘The Originals’ Steady, Decent Start for ‘Jane The Virgin’ Retrieved November 29, 2014.

[18] Abrams, N. (2014, November 26). Fox to pull ‘Red Band Society’ | EW.com. Retrieved November 29, 2014.

[19] Goldberg, L. (2014, November 11). Fox’s ‘Mulaney’ Downgraded to 7:30. Retrieved November 29, 2014.

[20] ‘Gotham’ Premiere Date Revealed & Fox Announces All Fall Premiere Dates. (2014, July 10). Retrieved November 29, 2014

[21] TheWrap.com (n.d.). Retrieved November 29, 2014

[22] Surette, T. (2014, October 22). Fox Orders More Scripts for Red Band Society, Despite Poor Ratings. Retrieved November 29, 2014;.

[23] 21st Century Fox TV Revenue Falls 25%. (n.d.). Retrieved November 29, 2014.

[24] 21st Century Fox TV Revenue Falls 25%. (n.d.). Retrieved November 29, 2014.

[25] Flint, J. (2014, July 20). Fox acknowledges need for new hits after disappointing season. Retrieved November 29, 2014.