News Corp weighs sale of its cable TV and streaming business in Australia

Rupert Murdoch's media business News Corp is reported to be weighing the sale of its cable TV and streaming business in Australia, Foxtel, after it received an interest from a third party.

Foxtel group CEO Robert Thomson said the group is undertaking a review of Foxtel’s business and evaluating options with advisors in light of the third-party interest.

Any transaction, involving sale of Foxtel would help the group reduce its dependence on high-overhead assets. Foxtel is struggling with its A$100 ($66) a month cable TV subscription business against low cost players like Netflix, Amazon and Disney who offer video streaming for a fraction of that.

News Corp, which split from Murdoch's Fox Corp in 2013, reported an 11 per cent increase in overall profit in the year 2023, on the back of a strong performance by its real estate listings business.

News Corp also owns most of the Murdoch family's newspapers like the Wall Street Journal and book publishing business HarperCollins, both of which are pitted against cheaper low-margin streaming business rivals. 

A sale of Foxtel would relieve News Corp of the larger burden and place it in a better position io defend its print business.

News Corp did not put a value for Foxtel's assets but, according to Morgan Stanley, it could be valued at four to six times gross annual profit.

New York-based News Corp is a diversified group with businesses across a range of media, including: digital real estate services, subscription video services in Australia, news and information services and book publishing. It operates primarily in the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom.