Every brand wants to create unique and compelling content to spark customer engagement on a regular basis. That’s what 21st Century Fox does.
“The strength of our global brands is, of course, a direct result of our success in creating unique and compelling creative content,” Lachlan Murdoch, 21st Century Fox Executive Chairman, said during the company’s Feb. 8 fiscal second-quarter conference call, according to Seeking Alpha. “Our distinction in this area was recognized last month with eight Golden Globe Awards across our Film and Television businesses, more than any of our peers. 21st Century Fox Film not only led the industry with Golden Globe wins, but currently dominates the competition for this year’s Academy Awards with a total of 30 nominations, double our nearest competitor.”
The core growth strategies that propel the brand forward over the long term revolve around offering great value to customers, delivering great story-telling, must have news and sports, and innovating in advertising and packaging, Murdoch noted.
“But success in the content production business can be tough to deliver consistently and this year we have seen mixed results at our Film Studio,” he explained. “Financial results from The Martian were strong, but they were more than offset by less than anticipated results from several of our other releases. While our film business is running behind our financial expectations, we feel good about our releases moving forward. The Revenant and Kung Fu Panda 3 are currently performing well. Deadpool and Eddie the Eagle are slated for later this quarter and X-Men: Apocalypse and ID4Resurgence for the fourth quarter.”
The company’s television production business has gained strong momentum.
“We are producing 36 scripted series this forecast season, including 20 returning and 16 new series,” Murdoch said. “Many of the new shows are supporting the turnaround of the Fox Network, including the X-Files which tuned audience of over 21 million people surpassing the original series most watched season ever. Globally, the X-Files reached an impressive audience of more than 50 million viewers across our international network of Fox owned channels.”
Developing and producing its own shows is a priority for 21st Century Fox.
“Just this last week, one of our productions, the “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story,” – premiered to the highest ratings ever on FX,” Murdoch said. “What I’ve just described is at the core of our long-term value that we drive for our shareholders. Overall, we are pleased with the momentum at the majority of our businesses. Our focus on building powerful brands, creating compelling content for consumers, and driving advertising innovation continues to create meaningful long-term value for our shareholders.”