The television news, broadcast and sports arm of the Fox media empire is by far the more profitable of the two Murdoch companies. Photo / Eric Lee, The New York Times
From Fox News to Tubi to HarperCollins, here’s what is in the media empire that Rupert Murdoch built.
The Murdoch family’s announcement Monday (Tuesday NZ time) that Lachlan Murdoch had completed an agreement to secure control of its media empire was the final step in the years-long succession arc.
Under the deal, three of Lachlan’s siblings – Prue, Liz and James – will each receive US$1.1 billion ($1.8b) for their shares in the family business, according to a person with knowledge of the deal. The family empire includes Fox Corp. and News Corp, which Lachlan will effectively control through a trust.
But what, exactly, will he control? After decades of global acquisitions, changing corporation names and a US$71.3b sale of 21st Century Fox assets to The Walt Disney Co. in 2019, there’s a lot to track. But the businesses influence the daily lives of millions of people around the world.
Here is a rundown of some of the major organisations under the umbrella of Fox Corp. and News Corp, which have a slew of brands among them.
What’s in it:
What does it earn?
Total revenue for the fiscal year that ended June 30 topped US$16b, a record for the company. Net income was US$2.29b.
What’s notable:
The television news, broadcast and sports arm of the media empire is by far the more profitable of the two Murdoch companies. It traces its origins to a 1985 deal by Rupert Murdoch to acquire 20th Century Fox, the movie studio.
He built that business into a broadcast behemoth now indelibly tied to politics and culture. Since Memorial Day, Fox News, with its polarising anchors and right-leaning content, has been the most-watched television network in prime time, according to Nielsen. Advertising revenue for the corporation also grew in the fiscal year that ended in June, increasing by 26% to US$7b.
Another jewel of the portfolio is Fox Sports, which broadcast this year’s Super Bowl and streamed the game on Tubi. The tie-up helped make Super Bowl 59 the most watched of all time, with 127.7 million viewers. Although the network will not air football’s biggest game in 2026, it has secured the rights to broadcast the Fifa men’s World Cup beginning next June. That event’s final game is the most-watched sporting event in the world.
And Fox Corp. is expanding its reach to more fledgling properties. In June, Fox announced that Tubi, the free streaming service with hundreds of thousands of movies and television episodes, had exceeded 100 million monthly active users. Last month, Fox Corp. expanded its digital footprint, releasing Fox One, a paid streaming service that includes programming from Fox’s broadcast and cable properties; and in June acquired Caliente TV, a sports streaming service in Mexico.
What’s in it:
What does it earn?
Total revenue for the fiscal year that ended June 30 was nearly US$8.5b. Net income was US$648 million.
What’s notable:
Murdoch entered the US media market in the 1970s with a string of newspaper acquisitions, including The New York Post. A flurry of sales and purchases took place over the next several decades, but a robust portfolio remains: international news, book publishing and digital real estate services.
Under the News Corp umbrella is Dow Jones, an asset that includes The Wall Street Journal and the businesses Risk & Compliance and Dow Jones Energy that provide analysis and risk protection insights. The corporation also provides digital and print news, with publications including The Times and The Sunday Times in Britain. The New York Post announced in August that it would expand in 2026 to include a California newspaper, The California Post.
HarperCollins, the publishing giant, is a big contributor to the business. Book publishing revenue hit US$2.1b in the year through June, the division’s second-best year for revenue.
And News Corp also has a foot in the housing market, with a majority stake in Move Inc., a real estate listing company that operates Realtor.com. Despite a sluggish year for the housing market in the United States, Realtor.com’s revenue grew for the third consecutive quarter. The company recently announced the acquisition of Zenlist, a service that matches agents to clients in home searches.
News Corp also owns the British tabloid newspaper The Sun, a number of national and regional Australian newspapers and the news channel Sky News Australia.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
Written by: Emmett Lindner
Photographs by: Eric Lee, Hiroko Masuike and Vincent Alban
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