Fox News Poised To Generate “Record Profits In The Coming Year”

By Brian 

Roger Ailes told UBS analysts today that Fox News Channel “is worth a $1-per-month subscriber fee, and that parent company News Corp. will fight to receive fair value for the 10-year-old channel,” TV Week reports. “Mr. Ailes said he expects new deals with Comcast, Cablevision and DirecTV to be in place before fiscal year 2008.

More: “Ailes also said that despite a slowing cable advertising market, Fox News is poised again to generate record profits in the coming year. He said 50 percent of Fox News Channel inventory is expected to be sold in the upfront, which he expects will wrap up in September.”

Click continued to read bullet points from the UBS report…


Excerpts from the UBS analyst report:

With existing affiliate contracts beginning to expire in September
2006, Mr. Ailes noted negotiations with Comcast, Cablevision and DirecTV
are expected “fairly soon,” with Time Warner Cable expected in the next
year. These four operators represent roughly 53% of the total U.S.
pay-television market. Mr. Ailes noted that carriage negotiations are
typically challenging, and while he hopes to avoid any conflicts, he
believes that News Corp. will fight if necessary to receive fair value
for Fox News content.

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Mr. Ailes referred to the cable advertising market as slowing, but
believes that Fox News remains well positioned to again generate record
profits in the coming year. Upfront advertising sales are expected to
comprise 50% of total inventory and should wrap up in September.

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