“We love competition” – deadlines

Lachlan MurdochThe CEO of Fox Corp, said the rival news and opinion led by Fox News would welcome the arrival of the brand. Donald Trump If he is no longer president.

“We like the competition,” Murdoch said in response to a direct question from an analyst about Trump’s future during the company’s quarterly earnings round. “We have always thrived on competition. … The only difference today from a few years ago is that as our audience grows and our reach grows, we will now see our competition not only as cable news providers but also as a traditional broadcast network. “

Murdoch noted that from Labor Day to Election Day, Fox News was the top network in broadcast or cable in terms of total audience. Prior to the call, Fox Corp. reported results for the first quarter of its fiscal year, exceeding analysts’ estimates but announcing a larger toll from Covid-19.

Trump, who faces a tough challenge from Democrat B Biden in his bid for a second term as president, has spoken out about his ambition to launch an alternative to Fox News. His rise to power could certainly be due to the influence of Murdoch’s father Rupert and Fox opinion host Sean Hannity, even Trump had his differences with the network at the time.

In last month’s Rush Limboho radio show, Trump’s Long Look Bashed Fox News calls it “a very different thing than it was four years ago.” Someone said, ‘What’s the biggest difference? I said the biggest difference is from Fox. In response to CNN’s “fake news” coverage, it has launched the idea of ​​launching a network of public appearances.

Some concrete details have come out about a possible Trump news initiative, but it’s not a big deal to imagine him having a long-term relationship with the television business and as a public figure for decades. The field of protectionist TV news outlets has become more crowded in recent years, with new players such as Newsmax and One America News in the mix just before Trump’s 2016 election. a Vanity Fair The SpringTuna report said the Trump family discussed the stake with OAN, although a spokesman denied it.

Despite his criticism on Fox News, Ga is closely involved in the Trump channel and his siblings in the Fox business. It recently continued call-in segments Fox and friends And sitting with Maria Bertiromo, who supported him The Wall Street Journal.

Fox News was a big theme in the 50-minute analyst call, which follows Fox Release The first quarter results of its fiscal year. Overall, the quarterly performance was fairly mixed, with analysts predicting an increase in numbers, but despite the company’s strong political provision of local stations, total advertising revenue fell 7%.

Asked about the election’s impact on Fox News, Murdoch said it has been an “incredible cycle,” with the network’s total revenue growing 36% in the quarter. “As we enter a more general news cycle, which is about to happen,” he added, “the hunger for news will return to the great American entertainment of watching and watching baseball.” Masked singer”

While the ambiguities of the news cycle are hard to predict, Murdoch said that on multiple administrations by both parties, Fox News has retained its No. 1 share in TV news.

On the NFL front, Murdoch said ratings have been a bit “soft” this season due to the clash of games in the fall as the COVD-19 schedule has been revised. He declined to play for DirectTV’s Sunday ticket package, but said the company was engaged in negotiations with the league to renew its existing rights deal.