An 11 per cent gain in cable affiliate revenue has driven 21st Century Fox's bottom line for the quarter ended September 30, despite the filmed entertainment and broadcast TV segments posted year-on-year profit declines.
Fox delivered adjusted earnings of 49 cents per share for its fiscal 2018 first quarter.
Revenue was up 8 per cent for the quarter to $US7 billion ($A9.8 billion), while operating income hit $US1.79 billion ($A2.51 billion).
Lachlan Murdoch, Fox's executive co-chairman, opened the company's earnings call by saying they would not comment on reports the company has held discussions with Disney about selling its film and TV studios and cable networks.
Fox CEO James Murdoch reinforced that message, but when pressed by analysts both Murdochs emphasised the company's commitment to long-term growth and execution of the core film and TV businesses.
"We've really simplified our operating model to a great set of brands and assets we really like," CEO James Murdoch said.
"We see a real trajectory of good performance." Lachlan Murdoch added: "Historically we have always been asset builders. We will continue to do so."
Lachlan Murdoch addressed the question of whether Fox had enough reach and muscle to compete in an increasingly global and cross-platform media market as the deep-pocketed tech giants move in.
"There's been a lot of talk about the growing importance of scale," he said. "Fox has the required scale to continue to execute on our growth strategy and deliver increased returns to shareholders."
The Murdochs also reiterated their confidence that the company's pending takeover of European satcaster Sky will be completed by June 2018.
The regulatory review in the UK has been prolonged amid scrutiny of the recent sexual harassment scandals at the Fox News unit, and concern about the level of market power that Murdoch-owned entities wield.
The 10 per cent revenue gain logged in cable was also strong enough to offset an 11 per cent increase in programming costs for the unit.
The cable unit generated $US4.19 billion ($A5.87 billion) in revenue and operating income of $US1.5 billion ($A2.1 billion), up 9 per cent from the year-ago quarter.
Fox said it has garnered almost 3 million new subscribers for its cable channels from the new breed of digital MVPDs including Hulu (in which Fox has a stake) and YouTube.
Fox's broadcast TV unit saw a 36 per cent decline in operating income to $US122 million ($A171 million), in part because of the tough year-on-year comparisons with last year's presidential election-fuelled ad market.
A higher number of college and NFL football games on the Fox broadcast network also drove up costs.
The filmed entertainment unit also faced tough year-over-year comps with operating income dropping 18 per cent to $US256 million ($A358 million).
