News Corporation reports huge quarterly loss

Media Mogul Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, embroiled in deep crisis after revelations of phone-hacking by its UK Tabloid News of the World, has reported huge quarterly loss in revenue.

The company said it incurred a loss of $1.6bn in the last quarter (April-June), a huge loss as compared to a profit of $683m in the same period a year ago.

The Corporation's revenues in this quarter dipped 6.7% to $8.4bn. The loss is mainly blamed for a slide in audiences for TV shows including American Idol and disappointment at the box office for its Hollywood studio. The Company has said it is also performing poorly in Australian publishing assets.

News Corp announced plans last month to split off its publishing assets including the Wall Street Journal, the Times and the Sun in the UK, and its Australian newspapers from the more lucrative film and television assets including Fox Broadcasting, the Twentieth Century Fox studios and its stake in BSkyB.

The move comes in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal that has led to a sprawling criminal investigation in Britain and has triggered an investigation in the US under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. News Corp said legal costs relating to the investigation had risen to $224m for the 2012 fiscal year.

Source: Guardian news. Read Details Here.