 |
| Robert Thomson |
News Corp. CEO Robert Thomson reports a 22 percent decline in Q4 revenues (ended June) to $1.9B and a $401M net loss, compared to a $42M deficit a year ago.
The owner of the Wall Street Journal, New York Post, Sun, Times of London and Australian newspapers estimates the COVID-19 pandemic cut revenues by $330M during the period.
News Corp reported full-year revenues of $9B, off 11 percent from last year. The $1.6B in red ink compares to $228M profit in 2019.
WSJ subscriptions jumped 15 percent to nearly 3M during the quarter. Digital-only subs advanced 23 percent to 2.2M, representing 75 percent of total subscriptions.
Ad revenues dipped 28 percent to 28M, largely due to a 43 percent drop in print ad revenues, while digital took a 7 percent hit.
Thomson said News Corp took stringent action to cut costs during the quarter and launched a shared services program, which will have a "materially positive impact" on the bottom line.
Trump Media and Technology Group Corp. has replaced CEO and former California Congressman Devin Nunes with Kevin McGurn, a seasoned media sales executive.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is being bought by the Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism, a nonprofit that is the parent organization of the Baltimore Banner... The British Broadcasting Corporation is axing approximately 2,000 jobs, about 10 percent of its work force... Snap, the company behind Snapchat, is also succumbing to layoff fever, announcing plans to lay off 16 percent of its employees, about 1,000 people.
CBS News Radio will go off the air on May 22, part of the axe-swinging managerial plan put into play by CBS editor-in-chief Bari Weiss... The Economist, which was first published in 1843, is changing hands. Canadian billionaire Stephen Smith has agreed to acquire a 26.9 percent stake in the publication from Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild, her family and family foundation... Nexstar Media Group says it has closed its acquisition of TEGNA, the broadcast, digital media and marketing services company that was formed in 2015, when the Gannett Company split into two publicly traded companies.
USA TODAY brings on Jamie Stockwell as VP of news, effective March 30. Stockwell was most recently deputy managing editor of news for the Washington Post... YouTube expands its likeness detection capabilities to a pilot group of government officials, journalists and political candidates... The AP Fund for Journalism adds 50 news organizations to its local news program, bringing the total number of participating newsrooms to 100. 
Versant Media Group, the NBCUniversal cable TV spin-off, today reported its first financial results as 2025 revenues dipped 5.3 percent to $6.7B and standalone EBITDA dropped 9.1 percent to $2.2B.
