Bad Quarter For STAR Due To Delay In KBC Launch; Expect New Channels And Ancillary Launches

The News Corp earnings call has a few mentions of developments at STAR, on changes in management, KBC and the impact of DTH and CAS.
On the change in management:
NewsCorp President and COO Peter Chernin deftly sidesteps the question on changes in top management at STAR, saying that the changes in management will strengthen operations and improve programming.
On impact of CAS and DTH:
Chernin expects CAS to have a positive impact on STAR, with higher declaration of subs from cable operators. They’re also bullish on Tata Sky, which Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch says is growing faster than expected, with around 5000 subs a day being added.
On Earnings, KBC and Future Plans:
According to CFO Dave DeVoe, earnings for STAR were down in the quarter, due to the delay in launching KBC. Chernin adds that the third season numbers for KBC were “extremely strong, up more than 25% over last year’s premier, which should give us great momentum for the second half of the year and lead to not only higher advertising results but higher ancillary revenues led by phone revenue from additional calls that come in with the show.” He says that we should expect “New channel launches and new ancillary businesses in the Internet and production etc.

The transcript for the Newscorp Earnings Call can be read here at Seeking Alpha.

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