Media conglomerate News Corp posted a quarterly net loss on a large accounting charge.
News Corp reported a fiscal first-quarter net loss of $433 million compared with a net profit of $625 million a year earlier.
Excluding a $1 billion non-cash charge on the value of its television station's licences, News Corp's results pleased Wall Street analysts, however.
It beat analyst forecasts as revenue rose 10 per cent on sharp advertising gains at its Fox News division and strength at its 20th Century Fox movie studio.
Analysts were surprised as much by the strength of the film studio's growth as they were by the weak television division results.
Operating income before depreciation and amortisation rose 20 per cent to $1.11 billion, led by a 26 per cent jump in films division operating income from Robots and Hide and Seek DVD sales.
Television unit operating income fell 32 per cent on the timing of the launch of the fall lineup and higher programming costs at its TV stations group.
The company, controlled by media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, faces an investor lawsuit over charges the company had reneged on a promise to seek shareholder approval before extending a poison pill measure.
News Corp. enacted a poison pill that would make a takeover prohibitively costly if any one stakeholder exceeded a certain amount of ownership after Liberty Media quietly purchased 18 per cent of News Corp.'s voting stake.
Concerns over Liberty's stake has driven News Corp. shares down 23 per cent since the beginning of the year, making it one of the worst-performing stocks among big media peers and under-performing a 2 per cent decline of the Standard & Poor's 500 index over the same period.