Share buyback, strategy day for its pay TV business – three major purchases so far this year, 2021 is turning out to be a year of real action for News Corp.
So here’s a couple of dates for your little black books this week – tomorrow, September 29 and Thursday, September 30 (actually Friday morning because that’s US time). The company: Foxtel. The dates are up on the News Corp Website. The 29th is titled ‘Foxtel Group Strategy Day,’ Australia and Asia, the 30th is titled ‘Foxtel Group Strategy’ day, US.
News says the strategy session will be introduced by News Corp Chief Executive Robert Thomson and Telstra Chief Executive Officer Andy Penn. It will include presentations by Foxtel Group CEO Patrick Delany, Chief Financial Officer Stuart Hutton and other members of the Foxtel Group leadership team.
So why will it take two days to describe and elaborate on Foxtel’s Strategy? After all it is a Pay TV monopoly that had fallen on hard times thanks to its old sluggish managers and been Netflixed.
It has retaliated after several attempts and is now competing with the streamers and doing well from Binge and sports service Kayo.
Perhaps the strategy day is all about the Big Float News rumour which has been around for most of this year and suggests that the pay TV/streaming video business will list on stock exchanges in Australia and the US – following its parent with a dual listing. Will Telstra bail on its 35% stake for a nice payout, or take its risks with a sharemarket issue?
News Corp has 65%, and can afford to sell off some of that to raise cash to help pay for the $US1 billion buyback and the $US1.8 billion in takeovers already launched this year. There is of course the question of Foxtel debt still guaranteed by News Corp and the ownership of Sky News – currently by News Corp.
News will want to keep control of Sky News though.
Now that the AFL season is over and the NRL season is about to end, and with growing doubt about the Ashes test cricket, the huge growth in the Kayo sports streaming service will fade until early 2022.
Foxtel’s old home/commercial subscriber base (paying full whack of up to $120 a month) is and the generalist Binge is still growing solidly.
But the home and commercial subscriber numbers are falling thanks to Covid and cannibalisation by the streaming services.
If the float happens, News will have its two biggest partly owned subsidiaries or associates listed and operating in Australia – the other is real estate listings group, REA.
