The Murdochs are feuding but their empire is thriving
Nothing in Fox's television schedules last year was quite as exciting – or, at times, as profane – as the drama that played out in a closed probate court in Reno, Nevada.
Rupert Murdoch, the 94-year-old founder and controlling shareholder of Fox Corporation and its sister company News Corp, was trying to change the terms of a family trust to block three of his children from inheriting control of the companies upon his death. The high-stakes legal manoeuvre was rejected. An appeal – and thus a new season of morbid entertainment for media watchers – is in the works.
As the Murdochs continue their decades-long, multibillion-dollar family feud, the empire they are fighting over is flourishing.
This is doubly surprising. For one thing, succession crises and legal uncertainty tend not to bolster investors' confidence in a company. What's more, the Murdoch firms are giants in linear television and print journalism, declining industries that markets have not been kind to.
Why is a pair of legacy media companies controlled by a dysfunctional dynasty so popular with investors?
Start with Fox, the larger of the two, with a market value of $US24 billion ($37 billion). Its business is concentrated in American broadcast and cable television, which in recent years have witnessed a bloodbath.
As the Murdochs continue their decades-long, multibillion-dollar family feud, the empire they are fighting over is flourishing.
Over the past decade-and-a-half, the share of homes with pay TV has fallen from nearly 90 per cent to barely 50 per cent as viewers have defected to streaming services such as Netflix. As for broadcast television, Americans today spend half as much time watching it as they do streaming, according to Nielsen, a data company.
While other legacy media companies' values have stagnated or worse, Fox's has soared. The difference lies in its content mix. In 2019 Fox sold its general-entertainment assets to Disney for $US71 billion at what turned out to be the top of the market, deciding to focus on news and sport. It was the right call: streamers like Netflix have since grabbed the audience for general entertainment, while news and sport have mostly stayed on linear TV, and thus with Fox.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Advertiser
an hour ago
- The Advertiser
Boisson's brilliance prompts Andreeva meltdown
Lois Boisson, a 22-year-old Frenchwoman ranked 361 in the world, has caused a sensation by knocking No.6 seed Mirra Andreeva out of the French Open, 7-6 (8-6) 6-3. Boisson, a wildcard who has never played in the main draw of a grand slam before, pulled off her second scarcely believable upset this week to reach the semi-finals at Roland Garros. Boisson dropped to the clay with her hands over her eyes in emotional scenes before cupping her ear to the crowd on a packed, raucous Court Philippe-Chatrier. It was all too much for Russian teenager Andreeva, who had two set points in the first but suffered a complete meltdown in the second after squandering a 3-0 lead. She told the crowd to "shut up", received a code violation for whacking a ball into the stands, burst into tears and forced her mother Raisa to leave her box. Roared on under the roof of Chatrier, Boisson won the final six games of the match Boisson, who suffered a career-threatening ACL injury before what was supposed to be her debut here last year, will be comfortably inside the top 100 after this fairytale run. Appropriately, on her right arm, she has a simple tattoo: RESILIENCE. But she is playing like a top-10 player. She has now beaten the third seed, Jessica Pegula, and the sixth. Second seed Coco Gauff awaits on Thursday for a place in the final. "It's incredible. Thank you for supporting me like this — I have no words," Boisson told a delirious home crowd. "I ran a bit too much because I was so tense early on," she said. "But I fought hard in that first set, which was so intense. At the start of the second, I felt a little empty, but I hung in there and finished the job." Earlier, Gauff huffed and puffed to a 6-7 (8-6) 6-4 6-1 victory against fellow American Madison Keys in a error-strewn match both players will want to forget quickly. More than half of Gauff's points came from the Australian Open champion's mistakes and the world No.2 got away with a total of 10 double faults. Altogether there were over a 100 errors. The 21-year-old will need to make dramatic adjustments when she faces Boisson for a place in Sunday's final. Keys, who was looking to reach the last four at Roland Garros for the second time after 2018, bowed out with her 60th unforced error to end a forgettable contest. "I'm happy to get through this match today, I have a lot more work to do, I'll be ready tomorrow," Gauff said. Gauff, who reached the final here in 2022, is the youngest woman to claim 25 main-draw wins at Roland Garros since Martina Hingis (1995-2000). While the quality was patchy at best, the drama was undeniable, with momentum swinging wildly. In the end, Keys edged the tiebreaker in the first set as Gauff double-faulted three times. Things did not get better in the second set. "So many unforced errors," Gauff said on court, in one of the understatements of the season. She levelled the contest as Keys looked out of sorts and cantered through the decider. With PA Lois Boisson, a 22-year-old Frenchwoman ranked 361 in the world, has caused a sensation by knocking No.6 seed Mirra Andreeva out of the French Open, 7-6 (8-6) 6-3. Boisson, a wildcard who has never played in the main draw of a grand slam before, pulled off her second scarcely believable upset this week to reach the semi-finals at Roland Garros. Boisson dropped to the clay with her hands over her eyes in emotional scenes before cupping her ear to the crowd on a packed, raucous Court Philippe-Chatrier. It was all too much for Russian teenager Andreeva, who had two set points in the first but suffered a complete meltdown in the second after squandering a 3-0 lead. She told the crowd to "shut up", received a code violation for whacking a ball into the stands, burst into tears and forced her mother Raisa to leave her box. Roared on under the roof of Chatrier, Boisson won the final six games of the match Boisson, who suffered a career-threatening ACL injury before what was supposed to be her debut here last year, will be comfortably inside the top 100 after this fairytale run. Appropriately, on her right arm, she has a simple tattoo: RESILIENCE. But she is playing like a top-10 player. She has now beaten the third seed, Jessica Pegula, and the sixth. Second seed Coco Gauff awaits on Thursday for a place in the final. "It's incredible. Thank you for supporting me like this — I have no words," Boisson told a delirious home crowd. "I ran a bit too much because I was so tense early on," she said. "But I fought hard in that first set, which was so intense. At the start of the second, I felt a little empty, but I hung in there and finished the job." Earlier, Gauff huffed and puffed to a 6-7 (8-6) 6-4 6-1 victory against fellow American Madison Keys in a error-strewn match both players will want to forget quickly. More than half of Gauff's points came from the Australian Open champion's mistakes and the world No.2 got away with a total of 10 double faults. Altogether there were over a 100 errors. The 21-year-old will need to make dramatic adjustments when she faces Boisson for a place in Sunday's final. Keys, who was looking to reach the last four at Roland Garros for the second time after 2018, bowed out with her 60th unforced error to end a forgettable contest. "I'm happy to get through this match today, I have a lot more work to do, I'll be ready tomorrow," Gauff said. Gauff, who reached the final here in 2022, is the youngest woman to claim 25 main-draw wins at Roland Garros since Martina Hingis (1995-2000). While the quality was patchy at best, the drama was undeniable, with momentum swinging wildly. In the end, Keys edged the tiebreaker in the first set as Gauff double-faulted three times. Things did not get better in the second set. "So many unforced errors," Gauff said on court, in one of the understatements of the season. She levelled the contest as Keys looked out of sorts and cantered through the decider. With PA Lois Boisson, a 22-year-old Frenchwoman ranked 361 in the world, has caused a sensation by knocking No.6 seed Mirra Andreeva out of the French Open, 7-6 (8-6) 6-3. Boisson, a wildcard who has never played in the main draw of a grand slam before, pulled off her second scarcely believable upset this week to reach the semi-finals at Roland Garros. Boisson dropped to the clay with her hands over her eyes in emotional scenes before cupping her ear to the crowd on a packed, raucous Court Philippe-Chatrier. It was all too much for Russian teenager Andreeva, who had two set points in the first but suffered a complete meltdown in the second after squandering a 3-0 lead. She told the crowd to "shut up", received a code violation for whacking a ball into the stands, burst into tears and forced her mother Raisa to leave her box. Roared on under the roof of Chatrier, Boisson won the final six games of the match Boisson, who suffered a career-threatening ACL injury before what was supposed to be her debut here last year, will be comfortably inside the top 100 after this fairytale run. Appropriately, on her right arm, she has a simple tattoo: RESILIENCE. But she is playing like a top-10 player. She has now beaten the third seed, Jessica Pegula, and the sixth. Second seed Coco Gauff awaits on Thursday for a place in the final. "It's incredible. Thank you for supporting me like this — I have no words," Boisson told a delirious home crowd. "I ran a bit too much because I was so tense early on," she said. "But I fought hard in that first set, which was so intense. At the start of the second, I felt a little empty, but I hung in there and finished the job." Earlier, Gauff huffed and puffed to a 6-7 (8-6) 6-4 6-1 victory against fellow American Madison Keys in a error-strewn match both players will want to forget quickly. More than half of Gauff's points came from the Australian Open champion's mistakes and the world No.2 got away with a total of 10 double faults. Altogether there were over a 100 errors. The 21-year-old will need to make dramatic adjustments when she faces Boisson for a place in Sunday's final. Keys, who was looking to reach the last four at Roland Garros for the second time after 2018, bowed out with her 60th unforced error to end a forgettable contest. "I'm happy to get through this match today, I have a lot more work to do, I'll be ready tomorrow," Gauff said. Gauff, who reached the final here in 2022, is the youngest woman to claim 25 main-draw wins at Roland Garros since Martina Hingis (1995-2000). While the quality was patchy at best, the drama was undeniable, with momentum swinging wildly. In the end, Keys edged the tiebreaker in the first set as Gauff double-faulted three times. Things did not get better in the second set. "So many unforced errors," Gauff said on court, in one of the understatements of the season. She levelled the contest as Keys looked out of sorts and cantered through the decider. With PA Lois Boisson, a 22-year-old Frenchwoman ranked 361 in the world, has caused a sensation by knocking No.6 seed Mirra Andreeva out of the French Open, 7-6 (8-6) 6-3. Boisson, a wildcard who has never played in the main draw of a grand slam before, pulled off her second scarcely believable upset this week to reach the semi-finals at Roland Garros. Boisson dropped to the clay with her hands over her eyes in emotional scenes before cupping her ear to the crowd on a packed, raucous Court Philippe-Chatrier. It was all too much for Russian teenager Andreeva, who had two set points in the first but suffered a complete meltdown in the second after squandering a 3-0 lead. She told the crowd to "shut up", received a code violation for whacking a ball into the stands, burst into tears and forced her mother Raisa to leave her box. Roared on under the roof of Chatrier, Boisson won the final six games of the match Boisson, who suffered a career-threatening ACL injury before what was supposed to be her debut here last year, will be comfortably inside the top 100 after this fairytale run. Appropriately, on her right arm, she has a simple tattoo: RESILIENCE. But she is playing like a top-10 player. She has now beaten the third seed, Jessica Pegula, and the sixth. Second seed Coco Gauff awaits on Thursday for a place in the final. "It's incredible. Thank you for supporting me like this — I have no words," Boisson told a delirious home crowd. "I ran a bit too much because I was so tense early on," she said. "But I fought hard in that first set, which was so intense. At the start of the second, I felt a little empty, but I hung in there and finished the job." Earlier, Gauff huffed and puffed to a 6-7 (8-6) 6-4 6-1 victory against fellow American Madison Keys in a error-strewn match both players will want to forget quickly. More than half of Gauff's points came from the Australian Open champion's mistakes and the world No.2 got away with a total of 10 double faults. Altogether there were over a 100 errors. The 21-year-old will need to make dramatic adjustments when she faces Boisson for a place in Sunday's final. Keys, who was looking to reach the last four at Roland Garros for the second time after 2018, bowed out with her 60th unforced error to end a forgettable contest. "I'm happy to get through this match today, I have a lot more work to do, I'll be ready tomorrow," Gauff said. Gauff, who reached the final here in 2022, is the youngest woman to claim 25 main-draw wins at Roland Garros since Martina Hingis (1995-2000). While the quality was patchy at best, the drama was undeniable, with momentum swinging wildly. In the end, Keys edged the tiebreaker in the first set as Gauff double-faulted three times. Things did not get better in the second set. "So many unforced errors," Gauff said on court, in one of the understatements of the season. She levelled the contest as Keys looked out of sorts and cantered through the decider. With PA
Perth Now
3 hours ago
- Perth Now
Lena Dunham reveals how she was before meeting her husband
Lena Dunham was "wrecking herself on male attention" before she met her husband. The 39-year-old comedian and writer - whose new semi-autobiographical series 'Too Much' is heading to Netflix - has reflected on her experiences with men which led her to "stop trusting herself" in her own love life before she met husband Luis Felber. She told British Vogue magazine's July issue: "You really never know when you're having your last affair. "Some of us hope that every frog we kiss is our happy ending, while others stand hand in hand with their soulmate, still terrified of the vista narrowing, the buffet running out, closing time. "Even now, I can't be sure. It's not that I don't trust my husband or our life – I do, very much. "It's that at some point along the way, wrecking myself again and again on the rocky shores of male attention, I stopped trusting myself." Lena met Luis, 38, in January 2021 after friends set them up on a blind date, and they got married eight months later. Just two weeks before moving to London - where she met her now-husband - she had a steamy affair with a man from Los Angeles called Craig, but it wasn't to be. His messages dried up, and she found herself in tears over him, it was meant to be. She recalled: "Two weeks after quarantine ended a friend would encourage me to get back on the horse and send my number to a man who he swore was 'not your husband or anything, just a fun times guy'. "I didn't know that man would, in fact, be my husband. "Craig's immaturity made me feel less old and his beauty made me feel more beautiful. I wanted, too badly, to be both of those things – and so I saw very little. "It took longer than I'd like to admit to realise he hadn't awoken me – I was waking and he walked by."
The Advertiser
5 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Error-fest as Gauff downs Keys to reach Open semis
Coco Gauff huffed and puffed into the French Open semi-finals with a 6-7 (8-6) 6-4 6-1 victory against fellow American Madison Keys in a error-infested match both players will quickly want to forget. More than half of Gauff's points came from the Australian Open champion soft mistakes and the world No.2 got away with a total of 10 double faults. Altogether there were over a 100 errors. The 21-year-old will need to make dramatic adjustments when she faces either France's Lois Boisson or Russian sixth seed Mirra Andreeva for a place in Sunday's final. Keys, who was looking to reach the last four at Roland Garros for the second time after 2018, bowed out with her 60th unforced error to end a forgettable contest. "I'm happy to get through this match today, I have a lot more work to do, I'll be ready tomorrow," Gauff said. "I changed something at 4-1 (in the first set). It's tough to play against her because she hits the ball so fast, so low, I was just trying to fight for every point ... to get the ball to the other side of the net." Gauff, who reached the final here in 2022, is the youngest woman to claim 25 main-draw wins at Roland Garros since Martina Hingis (1995-2000). The opening set was a scrappy affair, with the first three games going against serve. Keys secured the first hold to lead 3-1 and broke again before Gauff clawed back a break and held for the first time to close the gap to 4-3. In a flurry of breaks, Gauff levelled at 4-4 and held once more to edge ahead, putting the pressure on Keys, who saved a set point to force a tiebreak. While the quality was patchy at best, the drama was undeniable, with momentum swinging wildly. In the end, Keys edged the tiebreak as Gauff double-faulted three times, handing the opener to her opponent. Things did not get better in the second set. "So many unforced errors," Gauff said on court, in one of the understatements of the season. She levelled the contest as Keys looked out of sorts and cantered through the decider. Coco Gauff huffed and puffed into the French Open semi-finals with a 6-7 (8-6) 6-4 6-1 victory against fellow American Madison Keys in a error-infested match both players will quickly want to forget. More than half of Gauff's points came from the Australian Open champion soft mistakes and the world No.2 got away with a total of 10 double faults. Altogether there were over a 100 errors. The 21-year-old will need to make dramatic adjustments when she faces either France's Lois Boisson or Russian sixth seed Mirra Andreeva for a place in Sunday's final. Keys, who was looking to reach the last four at Roland Garros for the second time after 2018, bowed out with her 60th unforced error to end a forgettable contest. "I'm happy to get through this match today, I have a lot more work to do, I'll be ready tomorrow," Gauff said. "I changed something at 4-1 (in the first set). It's tough to play against her because she hits the ball so fast, so low, I was just trying to fight for every point ... to get the ball to the other side of the net." Gauff, who reached the final here in 2022, is the youngest woman to claim 25 main-draw wins at Roland Garros since Martina Hingis (1995-2000). The opening set was a scrappy affair, with the first three games going against serve. Keys secured the first hold to lead 3-1 and broke again before Gauff clawed back a break and held for the first time to close the gap to 4-3. In a flurry of breaks, Gauff levelled at 4-4 and held once more to edge ahead, putting the pressure on Keys, who saved a set point to force a tiebreak. While the quality was patchy at best, the drama was undeniable, with momentum swinging wildly. In the end, Keys edged the tiebreak as Gauff double-faulted three times, handing the opener to her opponent. Things did not get better in the second set. "So many unforced errors," Gauff said on court, in one of the understatements of the season. She levelled the contest as Keys looked out of sorts and cantered through the decider. Coco Gauff huffed and puffed into the French Open semi-finals with a 6-7 (8-6) 6-4 6-1 victory against fellow American Madison Keys in a error-infested match both players will quickly want to forget. More than half of Gauff's points came from the Australian Open champion soft mistakes and the world No.2 got away with a total of 10 double faults. Altogether there were over a 100 errors. The 21-year-old will need to make dramatic adjustments when she faces either France's Lois Boisson or Russian sixth seed Mirra Andreeva for a place in Sunday's final. Keys, who was looking to reach the last four at Roland Garros for the second time after 2018, bowed out with her 60th unforced error to end a forgettable contest. "I'm happy to get through this match today, I have a lot more work to do, I'll be ready tomorrow," Gauff said. "I changed something at 4-1 (in the first set). It's tough to play against her because she hits the ball so fast, so low, I was just trying to fight for every point ... to get the ball to the other side of the net." Gauff, who reached the final here in 2022, is the youngest woman to claim 25 main-draw wins at Roland Garros since Martina Hingis (1995-2000). The opening set was a scrappy affair, with the first three games going against serve. Keys secured the first hold to lead 3-1 and broke again before Gauff clawed back a break and held for the first time to close the gap to 4-3. In a flurry of breaks, Gauff levelled at 4-4 and held once more to edge ahead, putting the pressure on Keys, who saved a set point to force a tiebreak. While the quality was patchy at best, the drama was undeniable, with momentum swinging wildly. In the end, Keys edged the tiebreak as Gauff double-faulted three times, handing the opener to her opponent. Things did not get better in the second set. "So many unforced errors," Gauff said on court, in one of the understatements of the season. She levelled the contest as Keys looked out of sorts and cantered through the decider. Coco Gauff huffed and puffed into the French Open semi-finals with a 6-7 (8-6) 6-4 6-1 victory against fellow American Madison Keys in a error-infested match both players will quickly want to forget. More than half of Gauff's points came from the Australian Open champion soft mistakes and the world No.2 got away with a total of 10 double faults. Altogether there were over a 100 errors. The 21-year-old will need to make dramatic adjustments when she faces either France's Lois Boisson or Russian sixth seed Mirra Andreeva for a place in Sunday's final. Keys, who was looking to reach the last four at Roland Garros for the second time after 2018, bowed out with her 60th unforced error to end a forgettable contest. "I'm happy to get through this match today, I have a lot more work to do, I'll be ready tomorrow," Gauff said. "I changed something at 4-1 (in the first set). It's tough to play against her because she hits the ball so fast, so low, I was just trying to fight for every point ... to get the ball to the other side of the net." Gauff, who reached the final here in 2022, is the youngest woman to claim 25 main-draw wins at Roland Garros since Martina Hingis (1995-2000). The opening set was a scrappy affair, with the first three games going against serve. Keys secured the first hold to lead 3-1 and broke again before Gauff clawed back a break and held for the first time to close the gap to 4-3. In a flurry of breaks, Gauff levelled at 4-4 and held once more to edge ahead, putting the pressure on Keys, who saved a set point to force a tiebreak. While the quality was patchy at best, the drama was undeniable, with momentum swinging wildly. In the end, Keys edged the tiebreak as Gauff double-faulted three times, handing the opener to her opponent. Things did not get better in the second set. "So many unforced errors," Gauff said on court, in one of the understatements of the season. She levelled the contest as Keys looked out of sorts and cantered through the decider.
