Twenty-First Century Fox 2003 Annual Report Download - page 10

The News Corporation Limited 8
These channels have grown to be more than individual
success stories; they have become reliable blueprints for
the development of our newer cable channels. Already
our 67 percent-owned National Geographic Channel has
rapidly expanded to reach 43 million homes in the U.S.,
while SPEED Channel, the premier cable channel for auto
racing fans, has grown to reach 57 million. And with the
launch of our extreme sports channel, FUEL, in July 2003,
we are working to replicate the trajectory – and the leader-
ship – of our primary channels while striking a balance
of established and emerging assets.
One of the greatest advantages of a well-integrated
worldwide company is our ability to respond to events with
international strength: to share expertise, resources and
personnel across platforms and across the globe. Just as
Fox News Channel in the U.S. and Sky News in London
cooperated to produce the most brilliant war coverage on
television – and were rewarded for their combined efforts
with record viewership numbers – so did our newspapers
share their strengths in order to cover the war in Iraq with
journalistic excellence and mutual support. Across the
U.K., our newspapers increased their market share and
ad revenues – although operating income for the year
was brought down by the The Sun’s fighting and winning
a lengthy price war initiated by its closest competitor.
Nonetheless, The Sun emerged at the end of the year hav-
ing made a great deal of hard-won progress to improve its
leadership position; and with its cover price restored, we
look forward to a return to the steady profit growth that
has been the hallmark of our U.K. papers. In Australia, our
papers improved both advertising and circulation revenues
to achieve a 10 percent rise in operating income. And
in the U.S., our New York Post was the country’s fastest-
growing major newspaper, increasing its circulation by
more than 10 percent for the fifth six-month audit period
in a row. The Post is now the eighth-largest daily paper
in the U.S., and we are confident that, given its current
momentum, it will soon be outselling its principal rival.
The performance of BSkyB, 35 percent-owned by News
Corporation, is yet another illustration of our vision ful-
filled: of our resolve, as in our 1998 decision to convert
Sky’s service to digital; of our patience, given our work
over the past five expensive years to nurture the fruits of
that decision; and of the satisfaction that has come as we
have seen our strategy turn into profits. In fiscal 2003,
with the platform’s return to positive earnings, BSkyB
added nearly 750,000 direct-to-home satellite subscribers
to grow its subscriber base to nearly seven million. During
the year, Sky maintained its industry-low churn while
launching a variety of new interactive services that boosted
revenues. As important, BSkyB is providing a model for
multi-channel television success that we can and will use
to improve our direct-to-home operations around the world.
Indeed, our Company’s integrated structure enables
us to meet new challenges with our greatest strengths
and best practices culled from assets across the globe.
This is precisely what we plan to do with the two major
strategic agreements that we reached this past year:
two developments that I believe are not only positive
but transformative for our Company. The first of these
One of the greatest advantages
of a well-integrated worldwide
company is our ability to respond
to events with international
strength: to share expertise,
resources and personnel across
platforms and across the globe.
CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S
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