Fox goes ape as cinema blockbusters thrive

Cinema hits including Dawn of the Planet of the Apes sent quarterly profits soaring to $1 billion (£629 million) at Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox but cable-TV is “fraying at the edge” because of online viewing.

Other Fox film box-office successes include The Fault in Our Stars, X-Men: Days of Future Past and Rio 2.

Chief operating officer Chase Carey admitted the rise of streaming sites such as Netflix meant Fox’s TV operation was being squeezed and it needed to be “proactive” about online TV ventures, which already include stakes in Vice Media and Hulu.

Carey stressed “the traditional bundle” for cable and satellite TV subscribers “will be the primary consumer package for years to come”. Fox has a 39% stake in Britain’s BSkyB.

Meanwhile, rival US media giant Time Warner, owner of the Warner Bros film studios and HBO, has begun cutting 1000 jobs amid similar pressure on costs. Time Warner recently rejected a takeover approach from Fox.