Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch on Tuesday defended his decision to settle litigation over the network’s role in broadcasting voter fraud conspiracy theories, telling investors it “in no way alters Fox’s commitment to of the highest journalistic standards”.
Fox last month agreed to a last-minute deal to pay nearly $800 million resolve a lawsuit by voting technology company Dominion, one of the largest defamation awards in US history.
That decision weighed Foxpushing the company to a net loss of $50 million in the first three months of the year.
In a call with analysts following the company’s results, Murdoch he framed the deal as a “business decision” to “avoid the acrimony of a divisive trial” while accusing a Delaware court of limiting Fox’s defense.
“We have been and remain confident in the merits of our position, that the First Amendment protects a news organization’s reporting of newsworthy events,” Murdoch said.
The Delaware judge effectively rejected that position, ruling in March that the First Amendment to the US Constitution offered no free speech protections to those who deliberately spread lies. “The Delaware court has severely limited our defense in the pretrial sentencing trial,” Murdoch said.
The decision was “clearly in the best interests of the company and its shareholders” to avoid a six-week trial and an appeals process that could have taken two to three years, he added. “We are proud of our Fox News team.”
The cost of the deal pushed Fox into a loss despite an 18% year-over-year increase in first-quarter revenue to more than $4 billion. Ad revenue rose more than 40% to $1.9 billion in the quarter, driven by the Super Bowl and other NFL games. On an adjusted basis, the company reported earnings of 94 cents a share, above estimates by analysts polled by Refinitiv of 87 cents.
It’s been a tumultuous year for Fox Corp, with the anchor starring Tucker Carlson abruptly exits the network last month, just days after the Dominion took over.
During a call with analysts, Murdoch dodged a question about Carlson’s ouster, saying, “As always, we’re adjusting our scheduling and lineup.”
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