Lachlan Murdoch Invites Hollywood to Lunch as Fox CEO Celebrates Major Fall Launch in 13 Years
The Fox broadcast network reported its most successful fall launch in 13 years, according to Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch. In an earnings call with Wall Street analysts on Wednesday, Murdoch emphasized the company’s ongoing commitment to producing entertainment programming.
During the fiscal second quarter earnings call, Murdoch highlighted recent series premieres, including Memory of a Killer, Best Medicine, and Fear Factor, each of which attracted over 10 million viewers across platforms in their debut week.
“The proof is in the pudding,” Murdoch asserted, noting that entertainment revenue at Fox had risen for the first time in years, citing it as the first uptick in four years.
Murdoch indicated that sports and news continued to drive quarterly results, though challenges loom due to increasing sports rights fees and declining linear audiences. Still, he noted that the success of entertainment programming has been a surprising addition to the company’s overall performance, given Fox’s recent corporate history.
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Fox Corp. split from 21st Century Fox in 2019, following the latter’s acquisition by Disney, leaving the “RemainCo” focused primarily on news and sports. This transition raised questions about how the broadcast network would sustain its entertainment profile.
In the past year, Fox has formed partnerships for both scripted and unscripted programming with notable figures including Jamie Foxx, Taraji P. Henson, and Maria Zuckerman, a former executive at HBO and Topic Studios. Additionally, the company is expanding into creator-driven content, securing a vertical video deal with popular YouTuber Dhar Mann.
Murdoch expressed the company’s ongoing strategy, stating, “We will always sign first-look deals and creative deals with the best content creators and producers and writers in the industry. That’s something we’ve always done and will continue to do.”
Overall, Murdoch reiterated the company’s commitment to balance scripted and non-scripted programming while managing budgets efficiently to maintain a profitable cost base.
