LATEST QUARTERLY RESULTS A MIXED BAG FOR MEDIA

Media conglomerates 21st Century Fox (the former entertainment unit of News Corp) and Lions Gate Entertainment reported their most recent quarterly results on Thursday — and they were vastly disparate. Fox said that its second quarter, which ended on Dec. 31, saw profits fall 12 percent from the same quarter a year ago. It cited lower ad sales at its Fox television network in general and its American Idol program in particular. The company’s 20th Century Fox studio also showed weaker results, with lackluster sales for The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and Walking With Dinosaurs. On the other hand Lions Gate Entertainment had its best third quarter ever, due to the blockbuster performance of Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. Profit rose to $88.8 million from $37.8 million for the same quarter a year ago. Meanwhile, Sony said that it has agreed to sell its Vaio PC unit and spin off its TV manufacturing business. At the same time it revised its full year forecast to a loss of $1.1 billion from a profit of 30 billion yen.