UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

________________________________

FORM 10-K

________________________________

(Mark One)

☒ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2021

Or

☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from              to             

Commission file number 001-35769

________________________________

NEWS CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

________________________________

Delaware

(State or other jurisdiction of

incorporation or organization)

1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York

(Address of principal executive offices)

46-2950970

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification No.)

10036

(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code (212) 416-3400

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class	Trading Symbol(s)	Name of each exchange on which registered
Class A Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share	NWSA	The Nasdaq Global Select Market
Class B Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share	NWS	The Nasdaq Global Select Market
Class A Preferred Stock Purchase Rights	N/A	The Nasdaq Global Select Market
Class B Preferred Stock Purchase Rights	N/A	The Nasdaq Global Select Market

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

None

(Title of class)

________________________________

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.    Yes  ☒    No  ☐

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.    Yes  ☐    No  ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes  ☒    No  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).    Yes  ☒    No  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer	☒	Accelerated filer	☐
Non-accelerated filer	☐	Smaller reporting company	☐
		Emerging growth company	☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management's assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report.    ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act).    Yes  ☐    No  ☒

As of December 24, 2020, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, the aggregate market value of the registrant’s Class A Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share, held by non-affiliates was approximately $6,929,894,133, based upon the closing price of $17.82 per share as quoted on The Nasdaq Stock Market on that date, and the aggregate market value of the registrant’s Class B Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share, held by non-affiliates was approximately $2,137,551,815, based upon the closing price of $17.68 per share as quoted on The Nasdaq Stock Market on that date.

As of July 30, 2021, 391,212,047 shares of Class A Common Stock and 199,630,240 shares of Class B Common Stock were outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Certain information required for Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K is incorporated by reference to the News Corporation definitive Proxy Statement for its 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which shall be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, within 120 days of News Corporation’s fiscal year end.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

			Page
PART I
	ITEM 1.	Business	1
	ITEM 1A.	Risk Factors	16
	ITEM 1B.	Unresolved Staff Comments	29
	ITEM 2.	Properties	29
	ITEM 3.	Legal Proceedings	30
	ITEM 4.	Mine Safety Disclosures	31
PART II
	ITEM 5.	Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities	32
	ITEM 6.	[Reserved]	32
	ITEM 7.	Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations	33
	ITEM 7A.	Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk	56
	ITEM 8.	Financial Statements and Supplementary Data	59
	ITEM 9.	Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure	125
	ITEM 9A.	Controls and Procedures	125
	ITEM 9B.	Other Information	125
	ITEM 9C.	Information Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions That Prevent Inspections	125
PART III
	ITEM 10.	Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance	126
	ITEM 11.	Executive Compensation	126
	ITEM 12.	Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters	126
	ITEM 13.	Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence	127
	ITEM 14.	Principal Accountant Fees and Services	127
PART IV
	ITEM 15.	Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules	128
	ITEM 16.	Form 10-K Summary	131
SIGNATURES			132

PART I

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

OVERVIEW

The Company

News Corporation (the “Company,” “News Corp,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is a global diversified media and information services company focused on creating and distributing authoritative and engaging content and other products and services to consumers and businesses throughout the world. The Company comprises businesses across a range of media, including digital real estate services, subscription video services in Australia, news and information services and book publishing, that are distributed under some of the world’s most recognizable and respected brands, including The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, Dow Jones, The Australian, Herald Sun, The Sun, The Times, HarperCollins Publishers, Foxtel, FOX SPORTS Australia, realestate.com.au, realtor.com®, talkSPORT and many others.

The Company’s commitment to premium content makes its properties a premier destination for news, information, sports, entertainment and real estate. The Company distributes its content and other products and services to consumers and customers across an array of digital platforms including websites, mobile device and tablet applications, or apps, smart TVs, social media, e-book devices and streaming audio platforms, as well as traditional platforms such as print, television and radio. The Company’s focus on quality and product innovation has enabled it to capitalize on the shift to digital consumption to deliver its content and other products and services in a more engaging, timely and personalized manner and create opportunities for more effective monetization, including new licensing and partnership arrangements and digital offerings that leverage the Company’s existing content rights. The Company is pursuing multiple strategies to further exploit these opportunities, including leveraging global audience scale and valuable data and sharing technologies and practices across geographies and businesses.

The Company’s diversified revenue base includes recurring subscriptions, circulation sales, advertising sales, sales of real estate listing products, licensing fees and other consumer product sales. Headquartered in New York, the Company operates primarily in the United States, Australia and the U.K., with its content and other products and services distributed and consumed worldwide. The Company’s operations are organized into six reporting segments: (i) Digital Real Estate Services; (ii) Subscription Video Services; (iii) Dow Jones; (iv) Book Publishing; (v) News Media; and (vi) Other, which includes the Company’s general corporate overhead expenses, costs related to the U.K. Newspaper Matters (as defined in Note 16—Commitments and Contingencies in the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements) and transformation costs associated with the Company’s ongoing cost reduction initiatives.

The Company maintains a 52-53 week fiscal year ending on the Sunday nearest to June 30 in each year. Fiscal 2021, fiscal 2020 and fiscal 2019 each included 52 weeks. Unless otherwise noted, all references to the fiscal periods ended June 30, 2021, June 30, 2020 and June 30, 2019 relate to the fiscal periods ended June 27, 2021, June 28, 2020 and June 30, 2019, respectively. For convenience purposes, the Company continues to date its financial statements as of June 30.

Corporate Information

News Corporation is a Delaware corporation originally organized on December 11, 2012 in connection with its separation (the “Separation”) from Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc. (“21st Century Fox”), which was completed on June 28, 2013 (the “Distribution Date”). Unless otherwise indicated, references in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2021 (the “Annual Report”) to the “Company,” “News Corp,” “we,” “us,” or “our” means News Corporation and its subsidiaries. The Company’s principal executive offices are located at 1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10036, and its telephone number is (212) 416-3400. The Company’s Class A and Class B Common Stock are listed on The Nasdaq Global Select Market (“Nasdaq”) under the trading symbols “NWSA” and “NWS,” respectively, and CHESS Depositary Interests (“CDIs”) representing the Company’s Class A and Class B Common Stock are listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (“ASX”) under the trading symbols “NWSLV” and “NWS,” respectively. More information regarding the Company is available on its website at www.newscorp.com, including the Company’s Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), which are available, free of charge, as soon as reasonably practicable after the material is electronically filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The information on the Company’s website is not, and shall not be deemed to be, a part of this Annual Report or incorporated into any other filings it makes with the SEC.

Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This document and any documents incorporated by reference into this Annual Report, including “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” contain statements that constitute “forward-looking

1

statements” within the meaning of Section 21E of the Exchange Act and Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. All statements that are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. The words “expect,” “will,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “predict,” “believe” and similar expressions and variations thereof are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements appear in a number of places in this document and include statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of the Company, its directors or its officers with respect to, among other things, trends affecting the Company’s financial condition or results of operations, the Company’s strategy and strategic initiatives and the outcome of contingencies such as litigation and investigations. Readers are cautioned that any forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties. More information regarding these risks and uncertainties and other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements is set forth under the heading “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in this Annual Report. The Company does not ordinarily make projections of its future operating results and undertakes no obligation (and expressly disclaims any obligation) to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Readers should carefully review this document and the other documents filed by the Company with the SEC. This section should be read together with the Consolidated Financial Statements of News Corporation (the “Financial Statements”) and related notes set forth elsewhere in this Annual Report.

BUSINESS OVERVIEW

The Company’s six reporting segments are described below.

	For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2021
	Revenues		Segment EBITDA
	(in millions)
Digital Real Estate Services	$	1,393	$	514
Subscription Video Services	2,072		359
Dow Jones	1,702		332
Book Publishing	1,985		303
News Media	2,205		52
Other	1		(287)

Digital Real Estate Services

The Company’s Digital Real Estate Services segment consists of its 61.4% interest in REA Group, a publicly-traded company listed on ASX (ASX: REA), and its 80% interest in Move. The remaining 20% interest in Move is held by REA Group.

REA Group

REA Group is a market-leading digital media business specializing in property, with operations focused on property and property-related advertising and services, as well as financial services.

Property and Property-Related Advertising and Services

REA Group advertises property and property-related services on its websites and mobile apps across Australia and Asia. REA Group’s Australian operations include leading residential, commercial and share property websites realestate.com.au, realcommercial.com.au and Flatmates.com.au. Additionally, REA Group operates media display and data services businesses, serving the display media market and markets adjacent to property, respectively. For the year ended June 30, 2021, average monthly visits to realestate.com.au were more than 121.9 million. Launches of the realestate.com.au app increased 49% to 55.0 million average monthly launches in fiscal 2021 as compared to the prior year, with consumers spending almost four times longer on the app than any other property app in Australia according to Nielsen Digital Content Ratings. Realcommercial.com.au remains Australia’s leading commercial property site across website and app. In fiscal 2021, the realcommercial.com.au app was launched 12.7 times more than the nearest competitor, and consumers spent 10.4 times longer on the realcommercial.com.au app based on Nielsen Digital Content Ratings data. Flatmates.com.au is the largest site for share accommodation in Australia, with average monthly visits of almost 2.9 million and more than 300,000 new members during fiscal 2021.

Realestate.com.au and realcommerical.com.au derive the majority of their revenue from their core property advertising listing products and monthly advertising subscriptions from real estate agents and property developers. Realestate.com.au and

2

realcommercial.com.au offer a product hierarchy which enables real estate agents and property developers to upgrade listing advertisements to increase their prominence on the site, as well as a variety of targeted products, including media display advertising products. Flatmates.com.au derives the majority of its revenue from advertising listing products and membership fees. The media business offers unique advertising opportunities on REA Group’s websites to property developers and other relevant markets, including utilities and telecommunications, insurance, finance, automotive and retail. REA Group also provides residential property data services to the financial sector through its Proptrack (formerly Hometrack) data services business, primarily on a monthly subscription basis.

REA Group’s international operations consist of digital property assets in Asia, including wholly-owned property portals in Hong Kong and China, a 65.5% interest in Elara Technologies Pte. Ltd. (“Elara”), a leading digital real estate services provider in India that owns and operates PropTiger.com and Housing.com (News Corp holds a 34.3% interest in Elara), and an 18% interest in PropertyGuru Pte. Ltd. (“PropertyGuru”), a leading digital property technology company operating marketplaces in Southeast Asia. REA Group acquired its interest in PropertyGuru in August 2021 in exchange for all shares of REA Group’s entities in Malaysia and Thailand. In connection with the PropertyGuru transaction, REA Group entered into an agreement to sell its 27% interest in its existing joint venture with 99.co. REA Group’s other assets include a 20% interest in Move, as referenced above. REA Group’s international businesses derive the majority of their revenue from their property advertising listing products and monthly advertising subscriptions from real estate agents and property developers.

Financial Services

REA Group’s financial services business encompasses an end-to-end digital property search and financing experience and mortgage broking services under its Smartline – personal mortgage advisers brand. REA Group has accelerated its financial services strategy through the recent acquisitions of Mortgage Choice Limited, a leading Australian mortgage broking business,

and a 34% interest in Simpology Pty Limited, a leading provider of mortgage application and electronic filing solutions. The financial services business generates revenue primarily through fees and commissions from lenders, mortgage brokers and other customers.

Move

Move is a leading provider of digital real estate services in the U.S. Move primarily operates realtor.com®, a premier real estate information, advertising and services platform, under a perpetual agreement and trademark license with the National Association of Realtors® (“NAR”). Through realtor.com®, consumers have access to over 142 million properties across the U.S., including an extensive collection of homes, properties and apartments listed and displayed for sale or for rent and a large database of “off-market” properties. Realtor.com® and its related mobile apps display approximately 99% of all Multiple Listing Services (“MLS”)-listed, for-sale and rental properties in the U.S., which are primarily sourced directly from relationships with MLSs across the country. Realtor.com® also sources new construction and rental listing content from a variety of sources, including directly from homebuilders and landlords, as well as from listing aggregators. Approximately 95% of its for-sale listings are updated at least every 10 minutes, on average, with the remaining listings updated daily. Realtor.com®’s content attracts a large and highly engaged consumer audience. Based on internal data, realtor.com® and its mobile sites had over 100 million average monthly unique users during the quarter ended June 30, 2021. See “Part I. Business—Explanatory Note Regarding Certain Metrics.”

Realtor.com® generates the majority of its revenues through the sale of listing advertisement and lead generation products, including ConnectionsSM Plus and AdvantageSM Pro, as well as its real estate referral-based services. Listing advertisement and lead generation products allow real estate agents, brokers and franchises to enhance, prioritize and connect with consumers on for-sale property listings within the realtor.com® website and mobile apps. Listing advertisement and lead generation products are typically sold on a subscription basis. The real estate referral-based business model leverages Move’s proprietary technology and platform to connect real estate professionals and other service providers, such as lenders and insurance companies, to pre-vetted consumers who have submitted inquiries via the realtor.com® website and mobile apps, as well as other online sources. The real estate referral-based services that connect real estate agents and brokers with these consumers typically generate fees upon completion of the associated real estate transaction, while the referral-based services that give other service providers, including lenders and insurance companies, access to the same highly qualified home shoppers are generally provided on a subscription basis. Realtor.com® also derives revenue from sales of non-listing advertisement, or Media, products to real estate, finance, insurance, home improvement and other professionals that enable those professionals to connect with realtor.com®’s highly engaged and valuable consumer audience. Media products include sponsorships, display advertisements, text links, directories and other advertising and lead generation services. Non-listing advertisement pricing models include cost per thousand, cost per click, cost per unique user and subscription-based sponsorships of specific content areas or targeted geographies.

3

In addition to realtor.com®, Move also offers online tools and services to do-it-yourself landlords and tenants, as well as professional software and services products. These include Avail, a platform that improves the renting experience for do-it-yourself landlords and tenants with online tools, educational content and world-class support. Avail employs a variety of pricing models, including subscription fees, as well as fixed- or variable-pricing models.

The Company’s digital real estate services businesses operate in highly competitive markets that are evolving rapidly in response to new technologies, business models, product and service offerings and changing consumer and customer preferences. The success of these businesses depends on their ability to provide products and services that are useful for consumers and real estate, mortgage and other related services professionals and attractive to their advertisers, the breadth, depth and accuracy of information they provide and brand awareness and reputation. These businesses compete primarily with companies that provide real-estate focused technology, products and services in their respective geographic markets, including other real estate and property websites in Australia, the United States and Asia.

Subscription Video Services

The Company’s Subscription Video Services segment provides sports, entertainment and news services to pay-TV and streaming subscribers and other commercial licensees, primarily via cable, satellite and internet distribution. This segment consists of (i) the Company’s 65% interest in NXE Australia Pty Limited, which, together with its subsidiaries, is referred to herein as the “Foxtel Group” (the remaining 35% interest in the Foxtel Group is held by Telstra Corporation Limited), and (ii) Australian News Channel (“ANC”).

The Foxtel Group

The Foxtel Group is the largest Australian-based subscription television provider, with a suite of offerings targeting a wide range of consumers. These include (i) its Foxtel premium pay-TV aggregation and Foxtel Now streaming services, which deliver nearly 200 channels1, including a number of owned and operated channels, covering sports, general entertainment, movies, documentaries, music, children’s programming and news, and (ii) its sports and entertainment streaming services, Kayo Sports and BINGE. Through Foxtel, Foxtel Now and Kayo, the Foxtel Group broadcasts and streams approximately 15,000 hours of live sports programming each year, encompassing both live national and international licensed sports events such as National Rugby League, Australian Football League, Cricket Australia and various motorsports programming. Live sports programming also includes other featured original and licensed premium sports content tailored to the Australian market such as events from ESPN and beIN Sports. Entertainment content provided by the Foxtel Group through the Foxtel, Foxtel Now and BINGE services includes television programming from HBO, FOX, NBCUniversal, Warner Bros., BBC and Discovery, as well as Foxtel-produced original dramas and lifestyle shows.

The Foxtel Group’s content is available through channels and on-demand and is currently distributed to broadcast subscribers using either cable networks accessed through Telstra or Optus’s satellite platform via Foxtel’s set-top boxes, including the iQ4 (satellite and Internet Protocol (IP) only) and iQ3. The Foxtel Group intends to migrate all broadcast subscribers to satellite or internet delivery over the next several years. Broadcast subscribers can also access Foxtel’s content using Foxtel GO, a companion service app on mobile devices and tablets. In addition, the Foxtel Group offers video content via the internet through its Kayo, BINGE and Foxtel Now streaming services, which are available on a number of devices. The Foxtel Group also offers a bundled broadband product, which consists of Foxtel’s broadcast pay-TV service, sold together with an unlimited broadband service (predominantly on the National Broadband Network), and an option for customers to add home phone services. In addition to its subscription television services, the Foxtel Group operates foxsports.com.au, a leading general sports news website in Australia, and Watch NRL and Watch AFL, subscription services that provide live streaming and on-demand replays of National Rugby League and Australian Football League matches internationally.

The Foxtel Group generates revenue primarily through subscription revenue from its pay-TV and streaming services as well as advertising revenue. For the year ended June 30, 2021, subscription revenues from the Foxtel Group’s streaming services, which include Kayo, BINGE, Foxtel Now and other streaming products, represented 14% of total circulation and subscription revenues at the Subscription Video Services segment. The Foxtel Group’s business generally is not highly seasonal, though results can fluctuate due to the timing and mix of its local and international sports programming, as expenses associated with licensing certain programming rights are recognized during the applicable season or event. See Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” for information regarding certain key performance indicators for the Foxtel Group.

1 Channel count includes standard definition channels, high definition versions of those channels, audio channels and two 4K Ultra HD channels.

4

The Foxtel Group competes primarily with a variety of other video content providers, such as traditional Free To Air (“FTA”) TV operators in Australia, including the three major commercial FTA networks and two major government-funded FTA broadcasters, and content providers that deliver video programming over the internet to televisions, computers, tablets and mobile and other devices. These providers include IP television, or IPTV, subscription video-on-demand, or SVOD, and broadcast video-on-demand, or BVOD, services; streaming services offered through digital media providers; as well as programmers and distributors that provide content, including smaller, lower-cost or free programming packages, directly to consumers over the internet. The Company believes that the Foxtel Group’s premium service and exclusive content, wide array of products and services, set-top box features that enable subscribers to record, rewind, discover and watch content, its integration of third-party apps and its investment in On Demand capability and programming enable it to offer subscribers a compelling alternative to its competitors. Its streaming services, including Kayo, BINGE and Foxtel Now, provide a diversified portfolio of subscription television services that allow the Foxtel Group to provide services targeted at a wide range of Australian consumers.

Australian News Channel

ANC operates nine channels and has carriage rights for two additional channels in Australia featuring the latest in news, politics, sports, entertainment, public affairs, business and weather. ANC is licensed by Sky International AG to use Sky trademarks and domain names in connection with its operation and distribution of channels and services. ANC’s channels consist of Fox Sports News, Sky News Live, Sky News Weather, Sky News Extra, Sky News Extra 1, Sky News Extra 2, Sky News Extra 3, Sky News New Zealand and Sky News on WIN. ANC channels are distributed throughout Australia and New Zealand and available on Foxtel and Sky Network Television NZ. Sky News on WIN is available on the regional FTA WIN network in Australia. ANC also owns and operates the international Australia Channel IPTV service and offers content across a variety of digital media platforms, including web, mobile and third party providers. ANC primarily generates revenue through monthly affiliate fees received from pay-TV providers based on the number of subscribers and advertising.

ANC competes primarily with other news providers in Australia and New Zealand via its subscription television channels, third party content arrangements and free domain website. Its Australia Channel IPTV service also competes against subscription-based streaming news providers in regions outside of Australia and New Zealand.

Dow Jones

The Company's Dow Jones segment is a global provider of news and business information, which distributes its content and data through a variety of media channels including newspapers, newswires, websites, apps for mobile devices, tablets and e-book readers, newsletters, magazines, proprietary databases, live journalism, video and podcasts. This segment consists of the Dow Jones business, whose products target individual consumers and enterprise customers and include The Wall Street Journal, Factiva, Dow Jones Risk & Compliance, Dow Jones Newswires, Barron’s, MarketWatch and Investor’s Business Daily. The Dow Jones segment’s revenue is diversified across business-to-consumer and business-to-business subscriptions, circulation, advertising, including custom content and sponsorships, licensing fees for its print and digital products and participation fees for its live journalism events. Advertising revenues at the Dow Jones segment are subject to seasonality, with revenues typically highest in the Company’s second fiscal quarter due to the end-of-year holiday season

Consumer Products

Through its premier brands and authoritative journalism, the Dow Jones segment’s products targeting individual consumers provide insights, research and understanding that enable consumers to stay informed and make educated financial decisions. As consumer preferences for content consumption evolve, the Dow Jones segment continues to capitalize on new digital distribution platforms, technologies and business models for these products, including distribution of content through licensing arrangements with third party subscription and non-subscription platform providers such as Facebook and Google, which is referred to as off-platform distribution. With a focus on the financial markets, investing and other professional services, many of these products offer advertisers an attractive consumer demographic. Products targeting consumers include the following:

•The Wall Street Journal (WSJ). WSJ, Dow Jones’s flagship product, is available in print, online and across multiple mobile, tablet and e-book devices. WSJ covers national and international news and provides analysis, commentary and opinions on a wide range of topics, including business developments and trends, economics, financial markets, investing, science and technology, lifestyle, culture and sports. WSJ’s print products are printed at plants located around the U.S., including both owned and third-party facilities. WSJ’s digital products offer both free content and premium, subscription-only content and are comprised of WSJ.com, WSJ mobile products, including a responsive design website and apps for multiple mobile devices (WSJ Mobile), and live and on-demand video through WSJ.com and other platforms such as YouTube, internet-connected television and set-top boxes (WSJ Video), as well as podcasts. For the year ended June 30, 2021, WSJ Mobile (including WSJ.com accessed via mobile devices,

5

as well as apps, and excluding off-platform distribution) accounted for approximately 67% of visits to WSJ’s digital news and information products according to Adobe Analytics.

•Barron’s Group. The Barron’s Group focuses on Dow Jones consumer brands outside of The Wall Street Journal franchise, including Barron’s and MarketWatch, among other properties.

Barron’s. Barron’s, which is available to subscribers in print, online and on multiple mobile, tablet and e-book devices, delivers news, analysis, investigative reporting, company profiles and insightful statistics for investors and others interested in the investment world.

MarketWatch. MarketWatch is an investing and financial news website targeting active investors. It also provides real-time commentary and investment tools and data. Products include mobile and tablet apps and a responsive design website, and revenue is generated primarily through the sale of advertising. Beginning in October 2020, MarketWatch also offers a premium digital subscription service.

•Investor’s Business Daily (IBD). IBD, which was acquired in May 2021, provides investing content, analytical products and educational resources to subscribers in print and online, as well as through mobile apps and video. IBD’s services include the Investors.com website, the MarketSmith and LeaderBoard market research and analysis tools and a weekly print publication.

•The Wall Street Journal Digital Network (WSJDN). WSJDN offers advertisers the opportunity to reach Dow Jones’s audience across a number of brands, including WSJ, Barron’s and MarketWatch. WSJDN does not include IBD.

•Live Journalism. The Dow Jones segment offers a number of in-person and virtual conferences and events each year, including WSJ Tech D-Live, its C-suite conferences such as CEO and CFO Council, the Women In series, the Future Of series, Global Food Forum and Barron’s Group Summits. These live journalism events offer advertisers and sponsors the opportunity to reach a select group of influential leaders from industry, finance, government and policy. Many of these programs also earn revenue from participation fees charged to attendees.*

* Due to the impacts of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, certain live journalism events that were scheduled to take place in person have instead been offered as interactive virtual events and others have been postponed or cancelled.

The following table provides information regarding average daily subscriptions (excluding off-platform distribution) during the three months ended June 30, 2021 for certain Dow Jones segment consumer products and for all consumer subscription products:

(in 000’s)	The Wall Street Journal(1)	Barron’s Group(1)(2)	Total Consumer(1)(3)
Digital-only subscriptions(4)(5)	2,722	700	3,522
Print subscriptions(4)(5)	734	220	980
Total subscriptions(4)	3,456	920	4,502

________________________

(1)Based on internal data for the period from March 29, 2021 to June 27, 2021, with independent assurance over global total sales and subscriptions provided by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP UK.

(2)Barron’s Group consists of Barron’s, MarketWatch, Financial News and Private Equity News.

(3)Total Consumer consists of The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s Group and, from May 5, 2021 (the first day following the acquisition), Investor’s Business Daily.

(4)Subscriptions include individual consumer subscriptions, as well as subscriptions purchased by companies, schools, businesses and associations for use by their respective employees, students, customers or members. Subscriptions exclude single-copy sales and copies purchased by hotels, airlines and other businesses for limited distribution or access to customers.

(5)For some publications, including The Wall Street Journal and Barron’s, the Dow Jones segment sells bundled print and digital products. For bundles that provide access to both print and digital products every day of the week, only one unit is reported each day and is designated as a print subscription. For bundled products that provide access to the print product only on specified days and full digital access, one print subscription is reported for each day that a print copy is served and one digital subscription is reported for each remaining day of the week.

6

The following table provides information regarding the digital platforms (excluding off-platform distribution) for certain Dow Jones segment consumer products:

	FY2021 Average Monthly Visits(1)	FY2021 Average Monthly Page Views(2)	FY2021 Average Monthly Unique Users(3)
WSJ	139 million	369 million	63 million
MarketWatch	125 million	341 million	51 million
Total Consumer(4)	296 million	774 million	134 million

________________________

(1)Includes visits via websites and mobile device and tablet apps based on Adobe Analytics for the 12 months ended June 30, 2021, except for IBD, for which this table includes such visits based on Adobe Analytics for the period from May 5, 2021 through June 30, 2021.

(2)Includes page views via websites and mobile device and tablet apps based on Adobe Analytics for the 12 months ended June 30, 2021, except for IBD, for which this table includes such page views based on Adobe Analytics for the period from May 5, 2021 through June 30, 2021.

(3)Includes aggregate unique users accessing websites and mobile device and tablet apps based on Adobe Analytics for the 12 months ended June 30, 2021, except for IBD, for which this table includes such unique users based on Adobe Analytics for the period from May 5, 2021 through June 30, 2021. See “Part I. Business—Explanatory Note Regarding Certain Metrics” for more information regarding the calculation of unique users.

(4)Total Consumer consists of WSJDN and IBD.

Professional Information Products

The Dow Jones segment’s professional information products, which target enterprise customers, combine news and information with technology and tools that inform decisions and aid awareness, research and understanding. These products consist of its Knowledge & Insight, Dow Jones Risk & Compliance and Dow Jones Newswires products. Specific products include the following: 

•Knowledge & Insight. Dow Jones Knowledge & Insight products consist primarily of Factiva, a leading provider of global business content, built on an archive of important original and licensed publishing sources. Factiva offers content from approximately 33,000 global news and information sources from over 200 countries and territories and in 28 languages. This combination of business news and information, plus sophisticated tools, helps professionals find, monitor, interpret and share essential information. As of June 30, 2021, there were approximately 0.9 million activated Factiva users, including both institutional and individual accounts.

•Dow Jones Risk & Compliance. Dow Jones Risk & Compliance products provide data solutions for customers focused on anti-bribery and corruption, anti-money laundering, counter terrorism financing, monitoring embargo and sanction lists and other compliance requirements. Dow Jones’s solutions allow customers to filter their business transactions and third parties against its data to identify regulatory, corporate and reputational risk, and request follow-up reports to conduct further due diligence. Products include online risk data and negative news searching tools such as RiskCenter Financial Crime Search and RiskCenter Financial Crime Screening and Monitoring for bulk screening. Dow Jones also provides an online solution for supplier risk assessment, RiskCenter Third Party, which provides customers with automated risk and compliance checks via questionnaires and embedded scoring. Feed services include PEPs (politically exposed persons), Sanctions, Adverse Media and other Specialist Lists. In addition, Dow Jones produces customized Due Diligence Reports to assist its customers with regulatory compliance.

•Dow Jones Newswires. Dow Jones Newswires distributes real-time business news, information, analysis, commentary and statistical data to financial professionals and investors worldwide. It publishes, on average, over 16,000 news items each day, which are distributed via Dow Jones’s market data platform partners, including Bloomberg and FactSet, as well as trading platforms and websites reaching hundreds of thousands of financial professionals. This content also reaches millions of individual investors via customer portals and the intranets of brokerage and trading firms, as well as digital media publishers. Dow Jones Newswires is also increasingly used as an input for algorithms supporting automated trading.

The Dow Jones segment’s businesses compete with a wide range of media businesses, including print publications, digital media and information services.

The Dow Jones segment’s consumer products, including its newspapers, magazines, digital publications, podcasts and video, compete for consumers, audience and advertising with other local and national newspapers, web and app-based media, magazines, social media sources and podcasts, as well as other media such as television, radio stations and outdoor displays. Competition for

7

subscriptions and circulation is based on news and editorial content, data and analytics content in research tools, subscription pricing, cover price and, from time to time, various promotions. Competition for advertising is based upon advertisers’ judgments as to the most effective media for their advertising budgets, which is in turn based upon various factors, including circulation volume, readership levels, audience demographics, advertising rates, advertising effectiveness and brand strength and reputation. As a result of rapidly changing and evolving technologies, distribution platforms and business models, and corresponding changes in consumer behavior, the consumer-focused businesses within the Dow Jones segment continue to face increasing competition for both circulation and advertising revenue, including from a variety of alternative news and information sources. These include both paid and free websites, digital apps, news aggregators, customized news feeds, blogs, podcasts, search engines, social media networks, programmatic advertising buying channels, as well as other emerging media and distribution platforms, including off-platform distribution of its products. Shifts in consumer behavior require the Company to continually innovate and improve upon its own products, services and platforms in order to remain competitive. The Company believes that these changes will continue to pose opportunities and challenges, and that it is well positioned to leverage its global reach, brand recognition and proprietary technology to take advantage of the opportunities presented by these changes.

The Dow Jones segment’s professional information products that target enterprise customers compete with various information service providers, compliance data providers and global financial newswires, including Reuters News, LexisNexis and Refinitiv, as well as many other providers of news, information and compliance data.

Book Publishing

The Company’s Book Publishing segment consists of HarperCollins, the second largest consumer book publisher in the world based on global revenue, with operations in 17 countries. HarperCollins publishes and distributes consumer books globally through print, digital and audio formats. Its digital formats include e-books and downloadable audio books for tablets, e-book readers and mobile devices. HarperCollins owns more than 120 branded imprints, including Harper, William Morrow, HarperCollins Children’s Books, Avon, Harlequin and Christian publishers Zondervan and Thomas Nelson. In May 2021, HarperCollins acquired Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s Books & Media segment (“HMH”), adding renowned and awarded children’s, young adult, fiction, non-fiction, culinary and reference titles to its extensive catalog.

HarperCollins publishes works by well-known authors such as Harper Lee, George Orwell, Agatha Christie and Zora Neale Hurston, as well as global author brands including J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Daniel Silva, Karin Slaughter and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It is also home to many beloved children’s books and authors, including Goodnight Moon, Curious George, Little Blue Truck, Pete the Cat and David Walliams. In addition, HarperCollins has a significant Christian publishing business, which includes the NIV Bible, Jesus Calling and author Max Lucado. HarperCollins’ print and digital global catalog includes more than 245,000 publications in different formats, in 16 languages, and it licenses rights for its authors’ works to be published in more than 50 languages around the world. HarperCollins publishes fiction and nonfiction, with a focus on general, children’s and religious content. Additionally, in the U.K., HarperCollins publishes titles for the equivalent of the K-12 educational market.

As of June 30, 2021, HarperCollins offered approximately 140,000 publications in digital formats, and nearly all of HarperCollins’ new titles, as well as the majority of its entire catalog, are available as e-books. Digital sales, comprising revenues generated through the sale of e-books as well as downloadable audio books, represented approximately 22% of global consumer revenues for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2021. With the widespread adoption of electronic formats by consumers, HarperCollins is publishing a number of titles in digital formats before, or instead of, publishing a print edition.

During fiscal 2021, HarperCollins U.S. had 197 titles2 on the New York Times print and digital bestseller lists, with 29 titles hitting number one, including The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse by Charlie Mackesy, The Duke and I and The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn, The Order by Daniel Silva, The Hate U Give and Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas, The One and Only Bob and The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate, They Both Die at The End by Adam Silvera, Class Act and New Kid by Jerry Craft, I Am Enough by Grace Byers, Magnolia Table, Volume 2 by Joanna Gaines, Strange Planet by Nathan W Pyle, The Women of The Bible Speak by Shannon Bream, Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard, Forgiving What You Can’t Forget by Lysa TerKeurst and The Happy in a Hurry Cookbook by Steve and Kathy Doocy.

HarperCollins derives its revenue from the sale of print and digital books to a customer base that includes global technology companies, traditional brick and mortar booksellers, wholesale clubs and discount stores, including Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble and Tesco. Revenues at the Book Publishing segment are significantly affected by the timing of releases and the number of HarperCollins’ books in the marketplace, and are typically highest during the Company’s second fiscal quarter due to increased demand during the end-of-year holiday season in its main operating geographies.

2 Excludes HMH.

8

The book publishing business operates in a highly competitive market that is quickly changing and continues to see technological innovations. HarperCollins competes with other large publishers, such as Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster and Hachette Livre, as well as with numerous smaller publishers, for the rights to works by well-known authors and public personalities; competition could also come from new entrants as barriers to entry in book publishing are low. In addition, HarperCollins competes for consumers with other media formats and sources such as movies, television programming, magazines and mobile content. The Company believes HarperCollins is well positioned in the evolving book publishing market with significant size and brand recognition across multiple categories and geographies.

News Media

The Company’s News Media segment consists primarily of News Corp Australia, News UK and the New York Post. This segment also includes Wireless Group, operator of talkSPORT, the leading sports radio network in the U.K., and Virgin Radio, and Storyful, a social media content agency that enables the Company to source real-time video content through social media platforms. The News Media segment generates revenue primarily through sales of print and digital advertising and circulation and subscription sales of its print and digital products. Advertising revenues at the News Media segment are subject to seasonality, with revenues typically highest in the Company’s second fiscal quarter due to the end-of-year holiday season in its main operating geographies.

News Corp Australia

News Corp Australia is one of the leading news and information providers in Australia by readership, with both print and digital mastheads covering a national, regional and suburban footprint. During the year ended December 31, 20203, its daily, Sunday, weekly and bi-weekly newspapers were read by over 5.5 million Australians on average every week. In addition, its digital mastheads are among the leading digital news properties in Australia based on monthly unique audience data and had approximately 810,000 aggregate closing subscribers as of June 30, 2021.

News Corp Australia’s news portfolio includes The Australian and The Weekend Australian (National), The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph (Sydney), Herald Sun and Sunday Herald Sun (Melbourne), The Courier Mail and The Sunday Mail (Brisbane) and The Advertiser and Sunday Mail (Adelaide), as well as paid digital platforms for each. In addition, News Corp Australia owns leading regional publications in Geelong, Cairns, Townsville, Gold Coast and Darwin and a small number of community mastheads.

The following table provides information regarding key properties within News Corp Australia’s portfolio:

	Total Paid Subscribers for Combined Masthead (Print and Digital)(1)	Total Monthly Audience for Combined Masthead (Print and Digital)(2)
The Australian	242,103	4.7 million
The Daily Telegraph	146,761	4.6 million
Herald Sun	146,026	4.4 million
The Courier Mail	147,101	2.8 million
The Advertiser	109,342	1.8 million

________________________

(1)As of June 30, 2021, based on internal sources.

(2)Based on Enhanced Media Metrics Australia (“EMMA”) average monthly print readership data for the year ended December 31, 2020 and Nielsen desktop, mobile and tablet audience data for December 2020.3

News Corp Australia’s broad portfolio of digital properties also includes news.com.au, one of the leading general interest sites in Australia that provides breaking news, finance, entertainment, lifestyle, technology and sports news and delivers an average monthly unique audience of approximately 11.9 million based on Nielsen monthly total audience ratings for the six months ended June 30, 20214. In addition, News Corp Australia owns other premier properties such as taste.com.au, a leading food and recipe site, and kidspot.com.au, a leading parenting website, as well as various other digital media assets. As of June 30, 2021, News Corp Australia’s other assets included a 14.8% interest in HT&E Limited, which operates a portfolio of Australian radio and

3 In April 2021, the news media industry in Australia announced that Roy Morgan will replace EMMA as the provider of news readership measurement, with the first data release scheduled in late August 2021. Due to this transition, December 2020 represents the most recent available information.

4 Full year data unavailable due to change in Nielsen measurement methodology effective January 2021.

9

outdoor media assets, and a 25.7% interest in Hipages Group Pty Ltd., which operates a leading on-demand home improvement services marketplace.

News UK

News UK publishes The Sun, The Sun on Sunday, The Times and The Sunday Times, which are leading newspapers in the U.K. that together accounted for approximately one-third of all national newspaper sales as of June 30, 2021. The Sun is the most read news brand in the U.K., and The Times and The Sunday Times are the most read national newspapers in the U.K. quality market. Together, across print and digital, these brands reach approximately 70% of adult news readers in the U.K., or approximately 39 million people, based on the PAMCo report for the quarter ended March 31, 2021.5 In addition to revenue from advertising, circulation and subscription sales for its print and digital products, News UK generates revenue by providing third party printing services through its world-class printing facilities in England, Scotland and Ireland and is one of the largest contract printers in the U.K. News UK also distributes content through its digital platforms, including its websites, thesun.co.uk, thetimes.co.uk and thesundaytimes.co.uk, as well as mobile and tablet apps. In addition, News UK has assembled a portfolio of complementary ancillary product offerings, including betting and gaming products. The following table provides information regarding News UK’s news portfolio:

	Paid Subscribers(1)	Monthly Global Unique Users(3)
The Sun (Mon – Sat)	N/A	124 million
The Sun on Sunday	N/A
The Times (Mon – Sat)	148,000 (print)(2) 366,000 (digital)	N/A
The Sunday Times	189,000 (print)(2) 367,000 (digital)	N/A

________________________

(1)As of June 30, 2021, based on internal sources.

(2)In addition to their print and digital-only products, The Times and The Sunday Times sell print and digital products bundled into one subscription, which is counted only once, under “print,” in the table above.

(3)Includes aggregate unique users accessing websites and mobile device and tablet apps based on Google Analytics data for the month ended June 30, 2021. See “Part I. Business—Explanatory Note Regarding Certain Metrics.”

New York Post

NYP Holdings (“NYP”) is the publisher of the New York Post (the “Post”), NYPost.com, PageSix.com, Decider.com and related mobile and tablet apps and social media channels. The Post is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the U.S., with a focus on coverage of the New York metropolitan area. The Post provides a variety of general interest content ranging from breaking news to business analysis, and is known in particular for its comprehensive sports coverage, famous headlines and its iconic Page Six section, an authority on celebrity news. The print version of the Post is primarily distributed in New York, as well as throughout the Northeast, Florida and California. For the three months ended June 30, 2021, average weekday circulation based on internal sources, including mobile and tablet app digital editions, was 475,019. In addition, the Post Digital Network, which includes NYPost.com, PageSix.com and Decider.com, averaged approximately 139.2 million unique users per month during the quarter ended June 30, 2021 according to Google Analytics. See “Part I. Business—Explanatory Note Regarding Certain Metrics” for information regarding the calculation of unique users.

The News Media segment’s newspapers, magazines, digital publications, radio stations and podcasts generally face competition from similar sources, and compete on similar bases, as the consumer products within the Dow Jones segment, particularly in their respective operating geographies. See “Item 1. Business – Business Overview – Dow Jones” above for further information.

Other

The Other segment includes the Company’s general corporate overhead expenses, costs related to the U.K. Newspaper Matters

and transformation costs associated with the Company’s ongoing cost reduction initiatives.

5 Publishers Audience Measurement Company (“PAMCo”) report for the quarter ended March 31, 2021 was based on PAMCo print readership data for the 12 months ended March 31, 2020 and Comscore audience data for November 2020. PAMCo ceased conducting surveys of print readership in 2020 due to lockdown restrictions imposed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. UKOM, which sets the U.K. industry standard for online audience measurement, has appointed Ipsos as the provider of online audience measurement beginning in January 2021. Due to this transition, November 2020 represents the most recent audience data incorporated by PAMCo.

10

Governmental Regulation

General

Various aspects of the Company’s activities are subject to regulation in numerous jurisdictions around the world. The introduction of new laws and regulations in countries where the Company’s products and services are produced or distributed, and changes in the enforcement of existing laws and regulations in those countries, could have a negative impact on the Company’s interests.

Australian Media Regulation

The Company’s subscription television interests are subject to Australia’s regulatory framework for the broadcasting industry, including the Australian Broadcasting Services Act 1992 (Cth) (the “Broadcasting Services Act”) and the Telecommunications Act 1997 (Cth) (the “Telecommunications Act”) and associated Codes. The key regulatory body for the Australian broadcasting industry is the Australian Communications and Media Authority.

Key regulatory issues for subscription television providers include: (a) anti-siphoning restrictions—currently under the ‘anti-siphoning’ provisions of the Broadcasting Services Act, subscription television providers are prevented from acquiring rights to televise certain listed events (for example, the Olympic Games and certain Australian Rules football and cricket matches) unless national or commercial television broadcasters have not obtained these rights 26 weeks before the start of the event or the rights are held by commercial television licensees whose television broadcasting services cover more than 50% of the Australian population or the rights are held by one of Australia’s two major government-funded broadcasters; and (b) other parts of the Broadcasting Services Act that may impact the Company’s ownership structure and operations and restrict its ability to take advantage of acquisition or investment opportunities. Foxtel is also subject to various consumer protection regimes under the Telecommunications Act and associated Codes, which apply to Foxtel as a telecommunications service provider.

Data Privacy and Security

The Company’s business activities are subject to laws and regulations governing the collection, use, sharing, protection and retention of personal data, which continue to evolve and have implications for how such data is managed. For example, in the U.S., certain of the Company’s websites, mobile apps and other online business activities are subject to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998, which prohibits the collection of personally identifiable information online from children under age 13 without prior parental consent. In addition, the Federal Trade Commission continues to expand its application of general consumer protection laws to commercial data practices, including to the use of personal and profiling data from online users to deliver targeted internet advertisements. More state and local governments are also expanding, enacting or proposing data privacy laws that govern the collection and use of personal data of their residents and increase penalties and afford private rights of action to individuals in certain circumstances for failure to comply, and most states have enacted legislation requiring businesses to provide notice to state agencies and to individuals whose personally identifiable information has been disclosed as a result of a data breach. For example, the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) and California Privacy Rights Act (“CPRA”), which will amend the CCPA in January 2023, establish certain transparency rules, put greater restrictions on how the Company can collect, use and share personal information of California residents and provide California residents with certain rights regarding their personal information. The CCPA and forthcoming CPRA provide for civil penalties for violations, as well as a private right of action for data breaches. Similarly, the recently-enacted Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (“CDPA”) imposes transparency and other obligations with respect to personal data of Virginia consumers and provides Virginia residents with similar rights, with the exception of a private right of action.

Similar laws and regulations have been implemented in many of the other jurisdictions in which the Company operates, including the European Union, the U.K. and Australia. For example, the European Union adopted the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), which provides a uniform set of rules for personal data processing throughout the European Union, and the U.K. adopted the Data Protection Act of 2018 (the “UK DPA”), implementing the GDPR. The GDPR and the UK DPA expand the regulation of the collection, processing, use, sharing and security of personal data, contain stringent conditions for consent from data subjects, strengthen the rights of individuals, including the right to have personal data deleted upon request, continue to restrict the trans-border flow of such data, require companies to conduct privacy impact assessments to evaluate data processing operations that are likely to result in a high risk to the rights and freedoms of individuals, require mandatory data breach reporting and notification, significantly increase maximum penalties for non-compliance (up to 20 million Euros or 17 million pounds, as applicable, or 4% of an entity’s worldwide annual turnover in the preceding financial year, whichever is higher) and increase the enforcement powers of the data protection authorities. The European Union also plans to replace its existing e-Privacy Directive with a new e-Privacy Regulation that will complement the GDPR and amend certain rules, including with respect to cookies and other similar technologies that the Company utilizes to obtain information from visitors to the Company’s various digital

11

properties. It is not yet clear whether the U.K. will make corresponding changes to its existing Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations, which implemented the e-Privacy Directive in the U.K.

The Company and some of its service providers rely on certain mechanisms to address the European data protection requirements for transfers of data, such as the European Union Standard Contractual Clauses, that are evolving and often subject to uncertainty and legal challenges. In June 2021, the European Commission adopted new sets of European Union Standard Contractual Clauses, which regulate the relationship between controller and processor in accordance with the GDPR and international data transfers to a third country in the absence of an adequacy decision under the GDPR. The European Data Protection Board also adopted recommendations on measures that supplement data transfer tools to ensure compliance with the level of personal data protection required in Europe, including requirements for data exporters to assess the risks related to the transfer of personal data outside the European Economic Area and to implement, if necessary, additional contractual, organizational and technical measures such as encryption and pseudonymization. Such evolving frameworks could cause the Company to incur additional costs, require it to change business practices or affect the manner in which it provides its services.

In Australia, data privacy laws impose additional requirements on organizations that handle personal data by, among other things, requiring the disclosure of cross-border data transfers, placing restrictions on direct marketing practices and imposing mandatory data breach reporting, and additional data privacy and security requirements and industry standards are under consideration.

Industry participants in the U.S., Europe and Australia have taken steps to increase compliance with relevant industry-level standards and practices, including the implementation of self-regulatory regimes for online behavioral advertising that impose obligations on participating companies, such as the Company, to give consumers a better understanding of advertisements that are customized based on their online behavior.

The interpretation and application of data privacy and security laws are often uncertain, in flux, and evolving in the United States and internationally. Moreover, data privacy and security laws vary between local, state, federal and international jurisdictions and may potentially conflict from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. The Company continues to monitor pending legislation and regulatory initiatives to ascertain relevance, analyze impact and develop strategic direction surrounding regulatory trends and developments, including any changes required in the Company’s data privacy and security compliance programs.

U.K. Press Regulation

As a result of the implementation of recommendations of the Leveson inquiry into the U.K. press, a Press Recognition Panel responsible for approving, overseeing and monitoring a new press regulatory body or bodies was established. Once approved by the Press Recognition Panel, the new press regulatory body or bodies would be responsible for overseeing participating publishers. In addition to the Press Recognition Panel, certain legislation provides that publishers who are not members of an approved regulator may be liable for exemplary damages in certain cases where such damages are not currently awarded and, if Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013 is commenced, the payment of costs for both parties in libel actions in certain circumstances.

Press regulator IMPRESS was recognized as an approved regulator by the Press Recognition Panel on October 25, 2016. However, publications representing the majority of the industry in the U.K., including News UK, entered into binding contracts to form an alternative regulator, the Independent Press Standards Organisation, or IPSO, in September 2014. IPSO currently has no plans to apply for recognition from the Press Recognition Panel. IPSO has an independent chairman and a 12-member board, the majority of which are independent. IPSO oversees the Editors’ Code of Practice, requires members to implement appropriate internal governance processes and requires self-reporting of any failures, provides a complaints handling service, has the ability to require publications to print corrections and has the power to investigate serious or systemic breaches of the Editors’ Code of Practice and levy fines of up to £1 million. IPSO has also introduced an arbitration scheme to resolve claims against publications. The burdens IPSO imposes on its print media members, including the Company’s newspaper publishing businesses in the U.K., may result in competitive disadvantages versus other forms of media and may increase the costs of regulatory compliance.

U.K. Radio Broadcasting Regulation

The Company’s radio stations in the U.K. and Ireland are also subject to governmental regulation by the relevant broadcast authorities as the Company is required to obtain and maintain licenses from such authorities to operate these stations. Although the Company expects its licenses will, where relevant, be renewed in the ordinary course upon their expiration, there can be no assurance that this will be the case. Non-compliance by the Company with the requirements associated with such licenses or other applicable laws and regulations, including of the relevant authority, could result in fines, additional license conditions, license revocation or other adverse regulatory actions.

12

Intellectual Property

The Company’s intellectual property assets include: copyrights in newspapers, books, video programming and other content and technologies; trademarks in names and logos; trade names; domain names; and licenses of intellectual property rights. These licenses include: (1) the sports programming rights licenses for the National Rugby League, Australian Football League, Cricket Australia, V8 Supercars, Formula One and other broadcasting rights described in Note 16 to the Financial Statements; (2) licenses from various third parties of patents and other technology for the set-top boxes and related operating and conditional access systems used in the Company’s subscription television business; (3) the trademark license for the realtor.com® website address, as well as the REALTOR® trademark (the “NAR License”); and (4) the trademark licenses for the use of FOX formative trademarks used in the Company’s pay-TV business in Australia (the “Fox Licenses”). In addition, its intellectual property assets include patents or patent applications for inventions related to its products, business methods and/or services, none of which are material to its financial condition or results of operations. The Company derives value and revenue from its intellectual property assets through, among other things, print and digital newspaper and magazine subscriptions and sales, subscriptions to its pay-TV services and distribution and/or licensing of its television programming to other television services, the sale, distribution and/or licensing of print and digital books, the sale of subscriptions to its content and information services and the operation of websites and other digital properties.

The Company devotes significant resources to protecting its intellectual property assets in the U.S., the U.K., Australia and other foreign territories. To protect these assets, the Company relies upon a combination of copyright, trademark, unfair competition, patent, trade secret and other laws and contract provisions. However, there can be no assurance of the degree to which these measures will be successful in any given case. Piracy, including in the digital environment, continues to present a threat to revenues from products and services based on intellectual property. Policing unauthorized use of the Company’s products, services and content and related intellectual property is often difficult and the steps taken may not in every case prevent the infringement by unauthorized third parties of the Company’s intellectual property. The Company seeks to limit the threat of piracy by, among other means, preventing unauthorized access to its content through the use of programming content encryption, signal encryption and other security access devices and digital rights management software, as well as by obtaining site blocking orders against pirate streaming and torrent sites and a variety of other actions. The Company also seeks to limit such threat to its intellectual property by pursuing legal sanctions for infringement, promoting appropriate legislative initiatives and international treaties and enhancing public awareness of the meaning and value of intellectual property and intellectual property laws. However, effective intellectual property protection may be either unavailable or limited in certain foreign territories. Therefore, the Company also engages in efforts to strengthen and update intellectual property protection around the world, including efforts to ensure the effective enforcement of intellectual property laws and remedies for infringement.

Third parties may challenge the validity or scope of the Company’s intellectual property from time to time, and such challenges could result in the limitation or loss of intellectual property rights. Irrespective of their validity, such claims may result in substantial costs and diversion of resources that could have an adverse effect on the Company’s operations.

Raw Materials

As a major publisher of newspapers, magazines and books, the Company utilizes substantial quantities of various types of paper. In order to obtain the best available prices, substantially all of the Company’s paper purchasing is done on a regional, volume purchase basis, and draws upon major paper manufacturing countries around the world. The Company believes that under present market conditions, its sources of paper supply used in its publishing activities are adequate.

Human Capital

News Corp provides communities with the news, information and entertainment they need and demand, and its workforce is critical to the creation and delivery of its premium and trusted content and the success of the company. The Company’s ability to attract, develop and retain talented employees with the skills and capabilities needed by its businesses is a key component of its long-term strategy to become more global and more digital.

As of June 30, 2021, the Company had approximately 24,000 employees, of whom approximately 8,500 were located in the U.S., 5,000 were located in the U.K. and 7,500 were located in Australia. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company transitioned approximately 90% of its employees to remote working, while implementing additional safety measures for employees continuing critical on-site work. Of the Company’s employees, approximately 4,500 were represented by various employee unions. The contracts with such unions will expire during various times over the next several years. The Company believes its current relationships with employees are generally good.

13

The capabilities of the Company’s workforce have continued to evolve along with the Company’s business and strategy, including becoming more digital. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the pace of this evolution increased, as changing consumer behavior accelerated the shift in the Company’s workforce allocation towards digital products and services. The Company also implemented a transformation initiative to streamline operations and reduce costs across back office functions, including the introduction of common technology platforms, standardizing internal processes, outsourcing various activities and rationalizing its real estate footprint, which it expects to increase collaboration across its businesses worldwide and optimize the productivity and efficiency of its workforce.

Culture and Values

The delivery of quality news, information and entertainment to customers is a passionate, principled and purposeful enterprise. The Company believes people around the globe turn to News Corp because they trust its dedication to those values and to conducting business with integrity. The Company is always mindful that one of its greatest assets is its reputation, and ethical conduct is part of the vision, strategy and fabric of the Company. The Company has established a Compliance Steering Committee that oversees the Company’s global compliance-related policies, protocols and guidance and reports directly to the Board of Directors through the Audit Committee. Performance on ethics and compliance objectives is evaluated in determining the payout of incentive compensation for executive officers. In addition, all employees are required to regularly complete training on, and affirm compliance with, the News Corp Standards of Business Conduct, which confirm the Company’s policy to conduct its affairs in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations and observe the highest standards of business ethics. The Standards of Business Conduct are reviewed regularly and approved by the Board of Directors, and are complemented by business-unit and topic-specific policies and trainings, including with respect to workplace conduct, conflicts of interest, anti-corruption and anti-bribery and insider trading.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Company recognizes that the unique experiences and perspectives of its employees across its various businesses are critical to creating brands and products that reflect a diversity of viewpoints and engage and inspire customers all over the world, and the Company seeks to foster an environment where all employees can feel valued, included and empowered to bring great ideas to the table. To achieve this, the Company is committed to cultivating diversity and broadening opportunities for inclusion across its businesses. As of December 31, 2020, women represented 48% of News Corp’s global workforce, 40% of its senior executives6 and 33% of its Board of Directors. Although the Company has made progress in its workforce diversity representation, it seeks to continuously improve in this area through its recruitment practices, employee development and mentoring and inclusivity programs, and all of the Company’s business units have implemented diversity and inclusion programs and practices tailored to their respective industries and geographies. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of the Board of Directors assesses the Company’s progress towards its diversity and inclusion objectives on an annual basis and reports on its review to the Board of Directors.

Compensation and Benefits

News Corp’s compensation and benefits programs, which vary based on business unit and geographic location, are focused on attracting, retaining and motivating the top talent necessary to achieve its mission in ways that reflect its diverse global workforce’s needs and priorities. In addition to competitive salaries, the Company and its businesses have established short- and long-term incentive programs designed to motivate and reward performance against key business objectives and facilitate retention. News Corp also provides a range of retirement benefits based on competitive regional benchmarks and other comprehensive benefit options to meet the needs of its employees, including healthcare benefits, tax advantaged savings vehicles, life and disability insurance, paid time off, flexible working arrangements, generous parental leave policies and a company match for charitable donations. To support their employees through the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of business units provided enhanced benefits and implemented additional wellness programs, such as: the launch of a Community Online Academy, which offers free virtual classes weekly to help employees and their families improve their physical and mental well-being, as well as flexible work schedules, home office equipment reimbursements, enhanced child care benefits and ClassPass at Home, through which employees can access free live-streaming and on-demand exercise programs.

Training and Development

News Corp invests significant resources in training and development programs designed to enable its employees to develop the skills and leadership necessary to execute on the Company’s strategy and engage and retain top talent. News Corp employees

6 Comprising the Company’s Executive Chairman, Chief Executive, headquarters leadership team and chief executive officers of its primary operating companies, and executives directly reporting to each of the foregoing.

14

have access to a range of training opportunities, including workshops and classes on a variety of topics, webinars, job-specific training and other continuing education resources. The Company further supports and develops its employees through career planning resources and programs that build and strengthen employee leadership skills. In addition, the Company and its businesses have implemented programs to support regular performance reviews for employees to highlight their strengths and identify the skills and growth areas necessary to advance their careers. These programs help the Company identify and invest in the next generation of leadership and represent an important component in the development of its talent pipeline.

Explanatory Note Regarding Certain Metrics

Unique Users

For purposes of this Annual Report, the Company counts unique users the first time an individual accesses a product’s website using a browser during a calendar month and the first time an individual accesses a product’s mobile or tablet app using a mobile or tablet device during a calendar month. If the user accesses more than one of a product’s desktop websites, mobile websites, mobile apps and/or tablet apps, the first access to each such website or app is counted as a separate unique user. In addition, users accessing a product’s websites through different browsers, users who clear their browser cache at any time and users who access a product’s websites and apps through different devices are also counted as separate unique users. For a group of products such as WSJDN, a user accessing different products within the group is counted as a separate unique user for each product accessed.

Broadcast Subscribers

Broadcast subscribers consist of residential subscribers and commercial subscribers, which are calculated as described below.

Residential Subscribers

Total number of residential subscribers represents total residential subscribers to the Company’s pay-TV services through cable and satellite distribution, including subscribers obtained through third-party distribution relationships.

Commercial Subscribers

Commercial subscribers for the Company’s pay-TV business are calculated as residential equivalent business units, which are derived by dividing total recurring revenue from these subscribers by an estimated average Broadcast ARPU which is held constant through the year. Total number of commercial subscribers represents total commercial subscribers to the Company’s pay-TV services through cable and satellite distribution, including subscribers obtained through third-party distribution relationships.

Broadcast ARPU

The Company calculates Broadcast ARPU for its pay-TV business by dividing broadcast package revenues for the period, net of customer credits, promotions and other discounts, by average cable and satellite residential subscribers for the period and dividing by the number of months in the period. Average cable and satellite residential subscribers, or “Average Broadcast Subscribers,” for a given period is calculated by first adding the beginning and ending cable and satellite residential subscribers for each month in the period and dividing by two and then adding each of those monthly average subscriber numbers and dividing by the number of months in the period.

Broadcast Subscriber Churn

The Company calculates Broadcast Subscriber Churn for its pay-TV business by dividing the total number of disconnected cable and satellite residential subscribers for the period, net of reconnects and transfers, by the Average Broadcast Subscribers for the period, calculated as described above. This amount is then divided by the number of days in the period and multiplied by 365 days to present churn on an annual basis.

Paid Subscribers

A paid subscriber to the Company’s streaming services is one for which the Company recognized subscription revenue. A subscriber ceases to be a paid subscriber as of their effective cancellation date or as a result of a failed payment method. Paid subscribers excludes customers receiving service for no charge under certain new subscriber promotions.

15

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

You should carefully consider the following risks and other information in this Annual Report on Form 10-K in evaluating the Company and its common stock. Any of the following risks, or other risks or uncertainties not presently known or currently deemed immaterial, could materially and adversely affect the Company’s business, results of operations or financial condition, and could, in turn, impact the trading price of the Company’s common stock.

Risks Relating to the Company’s Businesses and Operations

The Company Operates in a Highly Competitive Business Environment, and its Success Depends on its Ability to Compete Effectively, Including by Responding to Evolving Technologies and Changes in Consumer and Customer Behavior.

The Company faces significant competition from other providers of news, information, entertainment and real estate-related services, including both traditional and new providers. See “Business Overview” for more information regarding competition within each of the Company’s segments. This competition continues to intensify as a result of changes in technologies, platforms and business models and corresponding changes in consumer and customer behavior, and the Company may be adversely affected if consumers or customers migrate to other alternatives. For example, enhanced internet capabilities, developments in content distribution platforms and the emergence of new media channels have led to alternative methods for the delivery, storage and consumption of content, which have increased the number of choices available to consumers for content consumption and have, in turn, adversely impacted, and may continue to adversely impact, demand for the Company’s newspapers, television programs and other products and services and the price consumers are willing to pay. Consumption of the Company’s content on third-party delivery platforms may also lead to loss of distribution and pricing control, loss of a direct relationship with consumers and lower engagement and subscription rates. These trends and developments have adversely affected, and may continue to adversely affect, both the Company’s circulation and subscription revenue and, in turn, advertisers’ willingness to purchase advertising from the Company, as well as increase subscriber acquisition, retention and other costs.

Technological developments have in some cases also increased competition by lowering barriers to entry. For example, content providers are now able to compete more easily with the Company’s pay-TV business via direct-to-consumer offerings, as internet streaming capabilities have enabled the disaggregation of content delivery from the ownership of network infrastructure. Other digital platforms and technologies, such as user-generated content platforms and self-publishing tools, have also reduced the effort and expense of producing and distributing certain types of content on a wide scale, allowing digital content providers, customers, suppliers and other third parties to compete with the Company, often at a lower cost. Additional digital distribution channels, such as online retailers and digital marketplaces, have presented, and may continue to present, challenges to the Company’s business models, including its traditional book publishing model, which could adversely affect sales volume and/or pricing.

In order to compete effectively, the Company must differentiate and distinguish its brands and their associated products and services, respond to and develop new technologies, distribution channels and platforms, products and services and anticipate and consistently respond to changes in consumer and customer needs, tastes and behavior, which in turn, depends on many factors both within and beyond its control. For example, the Company relies on brand awareness, reputation and acceptance of its high-quality differentiated content and other products and services, the breadth, depth and accuracy of information provided by its digital real estate services and professional information businesses, as well as its wide array of digital offerings, in order to retain and grow its audiences, consumers and subscribers. However, consumer tastes change frequently and are difficult to predict, and when faced with a multitude of choices, consumers may place greater value on the convenience and price of content and other products and services than they do on their source, quality or reliability. Online traffic and product and service purchases are also driven by internet search results, referrals from social media and other platforms and visibility on digital marketplace platforms and in mobile app stores. Search engine results and digital marketplace and mobile app store rankings are based on algorithms that are changed frequently, and social media and other platforms may also vary their emphasis on what content to highlight for users. Any failure to successfully manage and adapt to these changes across the Company’s businesses, including those affecting how the Company’s content, apps, products and services are discovered, prioritized, displayed and monetized, could impede the Company’s ability to compete effectively by significantly decreasing traffic to the Company’s digital properties, lowering advertiser interest in those properties, increasing costs if free traffic is replaced with paid traffic and lowering product sales and subscriptions. A shortfall in the expected popularity or discoverability of the Company’s content or other products and services could have an adverse effect on its business, financial condition or results of operations.

The Company expects to continue to pursue new strategic initiatives and develop new and enhanced products and services in order to remain competitive, such as its streaming services, its recently launched transformation initiative and the continued expansion into various adjacencies at its digital real estate services businesses. The Company has incurred, and expects to continue to incur, significant costs in order to implement these strategies and develop these new products and services, including

16

costs to continue developing and improving its streaming services and costs related to its transformation initiative, as well as other costs to acquire, develop, adopt, upgrade and exploit new and existing technologies and attract and retain employees with the necessary knowledge and skills. There can be no assurance any strategic initiatives, products and services will be successful in the manner or time period or at the cost the Company expects or that it will realize the anticipated benefits it expects to achieve. The failure to realize those benefits could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, results of operations and financial condition.

Some of the Company’s current and potential competitors may have greater resources, fewer regulatory burdens, better competitive positions in certain areas, greater operating capabilities, greater access to sources of content, data, technology or other services or strategic relationships and/or easier access to financing, which may allow them to respond more effectively to changes in technology, consumer and customer needs, preferences and behavior and market conditions. Continued consolidation among competitors in certain industries in which the Company operates may increase these advantages, including through greater scale, financial leverage and/or access to content, data, technology and other offerings. If the Company is unable to compete successfully against existing or future competitors, its business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.

A Decline in Customer Advertising Expenditures in the Company’s Newspaper and Other Businesses Could Cause its Revenues and Operating Results to Decline Significantly.

The Company derives substantial revenues from the sale of advertising, and its ability to generate advertising revenue is dependent on a number of factors, including: (1) demand for the Company’s products and services, (2) audience fragmentation, (3) digital advertising trends, (4) its ability to offer advertising products and formats sought by advertisers, (5) general economic and business conditions, (6) demographics of the customer base, (7) advertising rates, (8) advertising effectiveness and (9) maintaining its brand strength and reputation.

Demand for the Company’s products and services is evaluated based on a variety of metrics. For example, circulation levels for the Company’s newspapers, ratings points for its cable channels and number of listeners for its radio stations are among the factors advertisers consider when determining the amount of advertising to purchase from the Company as well as advertising rates. For the Company’s digital media properties, advertisers evaluate consumer demand using metrics such as the number of visits, number of users and user engagement. Any difficulty or failure in accurately measuring demand, particularly demand generated through new platforms, may lead to under-measurement and, in turn, lower advertising pricing and spending.

The popularity of digital media among consumers as a source of news, entertainment and other content, and the ability of digital advertising offerings to deliver targeted advertising promptly, has driven a corresponding shift in advertising from traditional channels to digital platforms. Large digital platforms in particular, such as Facebook, Google and Amazon, which have extensive audience reach, audience data and targeting capabilities, have commanded an increasing share of the digital advertising market in recent years, and the Company expects this trend to continue. The shift to digital media has significantly impacted the Company’s print advertising revenues, which have declined in each of its last three fiscal years. New devices and technologies, as well as higher consumer engagement with other forms of digital media platforms such as online and mobile social networking, have also increased the number of media choices and formats available to audiences, resulting in audience fragmentation and increased competition for advertising. The range of advertising choices across digital products and platforms and the large inventory of available digital advertising space have historically resulted in significantly lower rates for digital advertising than for print advertising. In addition, in the past, rates have been generally lower for mobile advertising than for desktop advertising. As a result, increasing consumer reliance on mobile devices has added, and may continue to add, additional pricing pressure. Consequently, despite continued growth in the Company’s digital advertising revenues, such revenues may not be able to replace print advertising revenue lost as a result of the shift to digital consumption.

The digital advertising market also continues to undergo changes that may further impact digital advertising revenues. Programmatic buying channels that allow advertisers to buy audiences at scale play a significant role in the advertising marketplace and have caused and may continue to cause further downward pricing pressure. New third-party delivery platforms may also lead to loss of distribution and pricing control, loss of a direct relationship with consumers and adversely affect the Company’s ability to understand its audience and/or collect and apply data for targeted advertising. The Company’s digital advertising operations also rely on a small number of significant technologies such as Google’s ad manager which, if interrupted or meaningfully changed, or if the providers leverage their power to alter the economic structure, could adversely impact advertising revenues. In addition, evolving standards for the delivery of digital advertising, as well as the development and implementation of technology, regulations, policies and practices that adversely affect the Company’s ability to deliver, target or measure the effectiveness of its advertising, including blocking, changing the location of, or obscuring, the display of advertising on websites and mobile devices, browsing incognito, blocking or deleting cookies and IP addresses, the phase-out of browser

17

support for third party cookies and mobile operating system identifiers used for advertising purposes, as well as opt-in requirements, may also negatively impact digital advertising revenues. As the digital advertising market continues to evolve, the Company’s ability to compete successfully for advertising budgets will depend on, among other things, its ability to drive scale, engage and grow digital audiences, collect and leverage better user data, develop new digital advertising products and formats such as branded and other custom content, and video and mobile advertising, and demonstrate the value of its advertising and the effectiveness of the Company’s platforms to its advertising customers, including through more targeted, data-driven offerings.

The Company’s print and digital advertising revenue is also affected generally by overall national and local economic and business conditions, which tend to be cyclical, as well as election and other news cycles. Natural disasters, including extreme weather, pandemics (including the novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic) and other widespread health crises or acts of terrorism have led and could continue to lead to greater economic uncertainty and reduced spending by advertisers. The Company experienced a material negative impact on advertising revenues primarily in the first half of fiscal 2021 because of weakness in the advertising market due to COVID-19. In addition, certain sectors of the economy account for a significant portion of the Company’s advertising revenues, including retail, technology and finance. Some of these sectors, such as retail, are more sensitive to weakness in economic conditions, as well as increased online competition. A decline in the economic prospects of these and other advertisers or the economy in general could alter current or prospective advertisers’ spending priorities or result in consolidation or closures across various industries, which may reduce the Company’s overall advertising revenue.

While the Company has adopted a number of strategies and initiatives to address these challenges, there can be no guarantee that its efforts will be successful. If the Company is unable to demonstrate the continuing value of its various platforms and high-quality content and brands or offer advertisers unique multi-platform advertising programs, its results may suffer. Reduced demand for the Company’s offerings, a decrease in advertising expenditures by the Company’s customers or a surplus of advertising inventory could lead to a reduction in pricing and advertising spending, which could have an adverse effect on the Company’s business, results of operations and financial condition.

The Inability to Obtain and Retain Sports, Entertainment and Other Programming Rights and Content Could Adversely Affect the Revenue of Certain of the Company’s Operating Businesses, and Costs Could Also Increase Upon Renewal.

Competition for popular programming licensed from third parties is intense, and the success of certain of the Company’s operating businesses, including its subscription television business, depends on, among other things, their ability to obtain and retain rights to desirable programming and certain related elements thereof, such as music rights, that enable them to deliver content to subscribers and audiences in the manner in which they wish to consume it and at competitive prices. The subscription television industry, including the Company’s subscription television business, has experienced higher programming costs due to, among other things, (1) increases imposed by sports, entertainment and other programmers when offering new programming or upon the expiration of existing contracts; (2) the carriage of incremental programming, including new services and SVOD programming; and (3) increased competition from other digital media companies, including streaming services, for the rights to popular or exclusive content. Certain of the Company’s operating businesses, including its subscription television business, are party to contracts for sports, entertainment and other programming rights with various third parties, including professional sports leagues and teams, television and motion picture producers and other content providers. These contracts have varying durations and renewal terms, and as they expire, renewals on favorable terms may be sought. In the course of renegotiating these and other agreements as they expire, the financial and other terms, such as exclusivity rights, under these contracts may change as a result of various reasons beyond the Company’s control, such as changes in the Company’s bargaining power or in the industry, and in order to retain or extend such rights, the Company may be required to increase the value of its offer to amounts that substantially exceed the existing contract costs. Furthermore, third parties may outbid the Company for those rights and/or for any new programming offerings. In addition, as other content providers develop their own competing services, they may be unwilling to provide the Company with access to certain content. For example, professional sports leagues or teams, as well as programmers and distributors such as ViacomCBS and Disney, have created and may continue to create their own direct-to-consumer offerings. Further, consolidation among content providers may increase the amount of content that could become unavailable to the Company and/or increase the scale and bargaining power of those providers. The loss of rights or any adverse changes to existing rights, including loss of exclusivity, may adversely affect the Company’s ability to differentiate its services and the breadth or quality of the Company’s content offerings, including the extent of the sports coverage and the availability of other popular entertainment programming offered by the Company, and lead to customer or audience dissatisfaction or, in some cases, loss of customers or audiences, which could, in turn, adversely affect its revenues. In addition, the Company’s business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected if upon renewal, escalations in programming rights costs are unmatched by increases in subscriber and carriage fees and advertising rates. The long-term nature of some of the Company’s content commitments may also limit its flexibility in planning for, or reacting to changes in, business and economic conditions and the market segments in which it operates.

18

The Company Has Made and May Continue to Make Strategic Acquisitions, Investments and Divestitures That Introduce Significant Risks and Uncertainties.

In order to position its business to take advantage of growth opportunities, the Company has made and may continue to make strategic acquisitions and investments that involve significant risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, among others: (1) the difficulty in integrating newly acquired businesses, operations and systems, including financial reporting, internal controls and information technology, in an efficient and effective manner, (2) the challenges in achieving strategic objectives, cost savings and other anticipated benefits, (3) the potential loss of key employees, customers and suppliers, (4) with respect to investments, risks associated with the inability to control the operations of the business, (5) the risk of diverting the attention of the Company’s senior management from the Company’s operations, (6) in the case of foreign acquisitions and investments, the impact of specific economic, tax, currency, political, legal and regulatory risks associated with the relevant countries, (7) expenses and liabilities, both known and unknown, associated with the acquired businesses or investments, (8) in some cases, increased regulation and (9) in some cases, lower liquidity as a result of the use of cash or incurrence of debt to fund such acquisition or investment. If any acquired business or investment fails to operate as anticipated or an acquired business cannot be successfully integrated with the Company’s existing businesses, the Company’s business, results of operations, financial condition and reputation could be adversely affected, and the Company may be required to record non-cash impairment charges for the write-down of certain acquired assets and investments. The Company’s ability to continue to make acquisitions depends on the availability of suitable candidates at acceptable prices and whether restrictions are imposed by regulations, and competition for certain types of acquisitions is significant.

The Company has also divested and may in the future divest certain assets or businesses that no longer fit with its strategic direction or growth targets. Divestitures involve significant risks and uncertainties that could adversely affect the Company’s business, results of operations and financial condition. These include, among others, the inability to find potential buyers on favorable terms, disruption to its business and/or diversion of management attention from other business concerns, loss of key employees, difficulties in separating the operations of the divested business, retention of certain liabilities related to the divested business and indemnification or other post-closing claims.

The Company’s Pay-TV Business Depends on a Single or Limited Number of Suppliers for Certain Key Products and Services, and Any Reduction or Interruption in the Supply of These Products and Services or a Significant Increase in Price Could Have an Adverse Effect on the Company’s Business, Results of Operations and Financial Condition.

The Company’s pay-TV business depends on a single or limited number of third party suppliers to supply certain key products and services necessary to provide its pay-TV services. In particular, the Company depends on Optus to provide all of its satellite transponder capacity and CommScope and Jonsa to supply its set-top boxes, and the Company expects its reliance on these suppliers to increase as it continues to migrate broadcast subscribers to satellite or internet delivery over the next several years. If any of these suppliers breaches or terminates its agreement with the Company or otherwise fails to perform its obligations in a timely manner, experiences operating or financial difficulties, is unable to meet demand due to component shortages, insufficient capacity or otherwise, significantly increases the amount the Company pays for necessary products or services or ceases production of any necessary product, the Company’s business, results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected.

In addition, Telstra is the primary supplier of cable distribution capacity for the Company’s pay-TV programming and is also currently the exclusive provider of wholesale fixed voice and broadband services for the Company’s pay-TV business and the largest reseller of its cable and satellite products. Any disruption in the supply of those services or a decline in Telstra’s business could result in disruptions to the supply of, and/or reduce the number of subscribers for, the Company’s products and services, which could, in turn, adversely affect its business, results of operations and financial condition.

While the Company will seek alternative sources for the products and services described above where possible and/or permissible under applicable agreements, it may not be able to develop these alternative sources quickly and cost-effectively, which could impair its ability to timely deliver its products and services to its subscribers or operate its business.

The Company’s International Operations Expose it to Additional Risks that Could Adversely Affect its Business, Operating Results and Financial Condition.

In its fiscal year ended June 30, 2021, approximately 63% of the Company’s revenues were derived outside the U.S., and the Company is focused on expanding the international scope of its operations. There are risks inherent in doing business internationally and other risks may be heightened, including (1) issues related to managing international operations; (2) economic uncertainties and volatility in local markets and political or social instability; (3) the impact of catastrophic events in relevant

19

jurisdictions such as natural disasters, including extreme weather (which may occur with increasing frequency and intensity), pandemics (including COVID-19) and other widespread health crises or acts of terrorism; (4) compliance with international laws, regulations and policies, including foreign tax regimes and potential adverse changes thereto, foreign ownership restrictions, restrictions on repatriation of funds and foreign currency exchange, data privacy requirements such as the GDPR, foreign intellectual property laws and local labor and employment laws and regulations; (5) compliance with anti-corruption laws and regulations such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the U.K. Bribery Act; and (6) increasing regulatory or governmental action against the Company’s products and services such as censorship or other restrictions on access, expulsion of journalists or other employees and other retaliatory actions, including as a result of trade and other disputes with the U.S. For example, Brexit may continue to adversely affect, among other things, economic and market conditions in the U.K. and the European Union, create uncertainty around doing business in the U.K. and result in additional costs and compliance obligations, including with respect to tariffs and other trade barriers, data protection and transfer, tax rates and the recruitment and retention of employees. Events or developments related to these and other risks associated with the Company’s international operations could result in reputational harm and have an adverse impact on the Company’s business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects. Challenges associated with operating globally may increase as the Company continues to expand into geographic areas that it believes represent the highest growth opportunities.

The Company is Party to Agreements with Third Parties Relating to Certain of its Businesses That Contain Operational and Management Restrictions and/or Other Rights That, Depending on the Circumstances, May Not be in the Best Interest of the Company.

The Company is party to agreements with third parties relating to certain of its businesses that restrict the Company’s ability to take specified actions and contain other rights that, depending on the circumstances, may not be in the best interest of the Company. For example, the Company and Telstra are parties to a Shareholders’ Agreement with respect to Foxtel containing certain minority protections for Telstra, including standard governance provisions, as well as transfer and exit rights. The Shareholders’ Agreement provides Telstra with the right to appoint two directors to the Board of Foxtel, as well as Board and shareholder-level veto rights over certain non-ordinary course and/or material corporate actions that may prevent Foxtel from taking actions that are in the interests of the Company. The Shareholders’ Agreement also provides for (1) certain transfer restrictions, which could adversely affect the Company’s ability to effect such transfers and/or the prices at which those transfers may occur, and (2) exit arrangements, which could, in certain circumstances, force the Company to sell its interest, subject to rights of first and, in some cases, last refusals.

In addition, Move, the Company’s digital real estate services business in the U.S., operates the realtor.com® website under an agreement with NAR that is perpetual in duration. However, NAR may terminate the operating agreement for certain contractually-specified reasons upon expiration of applicable cure periods. If the operating agreement with NAR is terminated, the NAR License would also terminate, and Move would be required to transfer a copy of the software that operates the realtor.com® website to NAR and provide NAR with copies of its agreements with advertisers and data content providers. NAR would then be able to operate a realtor.com® website, either by itself or with another third party.

Damage, Failure or Destruction of Satellites and Transmitter Facilities that the Company’s Pay-TV Business Depends Upon to Distribute its Programming Could Adversely Affect the Company’s Business, Results of Operations and Financial Condition.

The Company’s pay-TV business uses satellite systems to transmit its programming to its subscribers and/or authorized sublicensees. The Company’s distribution facilities include uplinks, communications satellites and downlinks, and the Company also uses studio and transmitter facilities. Transmissions may be disrupted or degraded as a result of local disasters, including extreme weather (which may occur with increasing frequency and intensity), power outages, terrorist attacks, cyberattacks or other similar events, that damage or destroy on-ground uplinks or downlinks or studio and transmitter facilities, or as a result of damage to a satellite. Satellites are subject to significant operational and environmental risks while in orbit, including anomalies resulting from various factors such as manufacturing defects and problems with power or control systems, as well as environmental hazards such as meteoroid events, electrostatic storms and collisions with space debris. These events may result in the loss of one or more transponders on a satellite or the entire satellite and/or reduce the useful life of the satellite, which could, in turn, lead to a disruption or loss of video services to the Company’s customers. The Company does not carry commercial insurance for business disruptions or losses resulting from the foregoing events as it believes the cost of insurance premiums is uneconomical relative to the risk. Instead, the Company seeks to mitigate this risk through the maintenance of backup satellite capacity and other contingency plans. However, these steps may not be sufficient, and if the Company is unable to secure alternate distribution, studio and/or transmission facilities in a timely manner, any such disruption or loss could have an adverse effect on the Company’s business, results of operations and financial condition.

20

The Loss of Key Personnel, or the Failure to Attract and Retain Other Highly Qualified Personnel, Could Harm the Company’s Business.

The Company’s businesses depend upon the continued efforts, abilities and expertise of its corporate and divisional executive teams and other highly qualified employees who possess substantial business, technical and operational knowledge. The market for highly skilled personnel, including for technology-related, product development, data science, marketing and sales roles, is very competitive, and the Company cannot ensure that it will be successful in retaining these employees or hiring and training suitable additions or replacements without significant costs or delays, particularly as its focus on digital products and services increases. These risks may be further exacerbated by changes in the nature of the office environment and remote working as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly if the Company’s needs are not aligned with increased demand for flexible work arrangements or as a result of workplace culture challenges due to increased remote working. The loss of key employees, or the failure to attract and retain other highly qualified personnel, could harm the Company’s business, including the ability to execute its business strategy.

Any Significant Increase in Newsprint Costs or Disruption in the Company’s Newsprint Supply Chain or Newspaper Printing and Distribution Channels may Adversely Affect the Company’s Business, Results of Operations and Financial Condition.

Newsprint is a significant expense for the Company’s newspaper publishing units. The price of newsprint has historically been volatile, and a number of factors may cause prices to increase, including: (1) the closure and consolidation of newsprint mills or the conversion of newsprint mills to other products or grades of paper, which has reduced the number of newsprint suppliers over the years; (2) the imposition of tariffs or other restrictions on non-U.S. suppliers of paper; (3) an increase in supplier operating expenses due to rising raw material or energy costs or other factors; (4) failure to maintain the Company’s current consumption levels; and (5) the inability to maintain the Company’s existing relationships with its newsprint suppliers. The Company also relies on third party suppliers for deliveries of newsprint and on third-party printing and distribution partners to print and distribute its newspapers in a number of key areas, including printing of the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post and Barron’s in New York. Financial pressures, newspaper industry economics, labor unrest, changes in laws and regulations, trucking shortages, ocean freight and customs delays and other transportation issues, natural disasters, including extreme weather (which may occur with increasing frequency and intensity), pandemics and other widespread health crises or other circumstances affecting these third-party suppliers and print and distribution partners could lead to disruptions, reduced operations or consolidations within the Company’s newsprint supply chain and/or of third-party print sites and/or distribution routes. The Company may not be able to develop alternative providers quickly and cost-effectively, which could disrupt printing and distribution operations or increase the cost of printing and distributing the Company’s newspapers. Any significant increase in the cost of newsprint, undersupply or significant disruptions in the newsprint supply chain or newspaper printing and distribution channels could have an adverse effect on the Company’s business, results of operations and financial condition.

The Company is Subject to Payment Processing Risk Which Could Lead to Adverse Effects on the Company’s Business and Results of Operations.

The Company’s customers pay for its products and services using a variety of different payment methods, including credit and debit cards, prepaid cards, direct debit, online wallets and through direct carrier and partner billing. The Company relies on internal systems as well as those of third parties to process payment. Acceptance and processing of these payment methods are subject to certain rules and regulations and require payment of interchange and other fees. To the extent there are increases in payment processing fees, material changes in the payment ecosystem, delays in receiving payments from payment processors, any failures to comply with, or changes to, rules or regulations concerning payments, loss of payment or billing partners and/or disruptions or failures in, or fraudulent use of or access to, payment processing systems or payment products, the Company’s results of operations could be adversely impacted and it could suffer reputational harm. Furthermore, if the Company is unable to maintain its fraud and chargeback rates at acceptable levels, card networks may impose fines and its card approval rate may be impacted. The termination of the Company’s ability to process payments on any major payment method would adversely affect its business and results of operations.

Labor Disputes May Have an Adverse Effect on the Company’s Business.

In a variety of the Company’s businesses, it engages the services of employees who are subject to collective bargaining agreements. If the Company is unable to renew expiring collective bargaining agreements, it is possible that the affected unions could take action in the form of strikes or work stoppages. Such actions, as well as higher costs in connection with these collective bargaining agreements or a significant labor dispute, could have an adverse effect on the Company’s business by causing delays in production or by reducing profit margins.

21

Macroeconomic and Market Risks

The COVID-19 Pandemic and Other Similar Epidemics, Pandemics or Widespread Health Crises Could Have a Material Adverse Effect on the Company’s Business, Results of Operations, Cash Flows and Financial Position.

The COVID-19 outbreak and the resulting responses of governments, businesses and consumers, have had, and may continue to have, an adverse effect on the Company’s business, results of operations, cash flows and financial position. The COVID-19 pandemic led to the implementation of unprecedented and wide-ranging measures by international, federal, state and local public health and governmental authorities to contain and combat the outbreak and spread of the virus, including quarantines, shelter-in-place and other social distancing orders, event cancellations, travel restrictions and orders for many businesses to curtail or cease normal operations. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and measures to prevent its spread caused significant and prolonged unemployment and a decline in consumer confidence and created significant economic volatility, uncertainty and disruption. Other epidemics, pandemics or widespread health crises may have similar effects.

During fiscal 2021, particularly in the first half, the COVID-19 pandemic continued to impact the Company’s businesses, although the impacts moderated relative to fiscal 2020. For example, business restrictions and shelter-in-place orders caused a decline in print newspaper volumes, while postponements and cancellations of sports events negatively impacted commercial subscription revenues and broadcast and Kayo subscribers. Advertising revenues also declined due to the resulting economic downturn. While the Company saw growth in other areas, including digital subscribers at its newspaper businesses, book sales at its Book Publishing segment and audience growth at realtor.com®, driven in part by pandemic-related circumstances and the news environment, this growth may not be sustainable.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company instituted remote working arrangements for a substantial majority of its employees. While these arrangements have not materially affected the Company’s ability to maintain its business operations to date, these work arrangements could, in the future, strain the Company’s business continuity plans, introduce operational risk, including cybersecurity risks or risks to the effectiveness of the Company’s internal controls, and affect the Company’s productivity and ability to manage its business and perform critical functions.

The ultimate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and other similar epidemics, pandemics or widespread health crises will depend on, among other things, the severity, duration, spread and any reoccurrence of such crises, the impact of governmental actions and business and consumer behavior in response, the effectiveness of actions taken to contain or mitigate outbreaks and prevent or limit any reoccurrence, including the development, availability and public acceptance of effective treatments and vaccines, the resulting global economic conditions and how quickly and to what extent normal economic and operating conditions can resume, all of which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic and other similar epidemics, pandemics or widespread health crises may amplify many of the other risk factors disclosed elsewhere in this “Item 1A. Risk Factors.”

Weak Domestic and Global Economic Conditions and Volatility and Disruption in the Financial and Other Markets May Adversely Affect the Company’s Business.

The U.S. and global economies have undergone, and may in the future experience, periods of economic and market weakness and uncertainty, including as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, trade disputes between a number of countries and higher inflation. These conditions have resulted in, among other things, a tightening of, and in some cases more limited access to, the credit and capital markets, lower levels of liquidity, increases in the rates of default and bankruptcy, lower consumer and business spending, lower consumer net worth and a decline in the real estate market. Such weakness and uncertainty and associated market disruptions have often led to broader, prolonged economic downturns that have historically resulted in lower advertising expenditures, lower demand for the Company’s products and services and unfavorable changes in the mix of products and services purchased and have adversely affected the Company’s business, results of operations, financial condition and liquidity. Any continued or recurring economic weakness is likely to have a similar impact on the Company’s business and reduce its circulation and subscription, advertising, real estate, consumer and other revenues and otherwise negatively impact the performance of its businesses. The Company is particularly exposed to certain Australian business risks, including specific Australian legal and regulatory risks, consumer preferences and competition, because it holds a substantial amount of Australian assets and generated approximately 42% of its fiscal 2021 revenues from Australia. As a result, the Company’s business, results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected by negative developments in the Australian market, including, for example, weakness in the Australian residential real estate market which has led, and may in the future lead, to lower listing volumes at REA Group. The Company also generated approximately 14% of its fiscal 2021 revenues from the U.K., which continues to experience political, regulatory, economic and market uncertainty following its exit from the European Union, commonly referred to as “Brexit.” While the U.K. and the European Union have entered into a trade and cooperation agreement,

22

which provides a framework for the U.K.’s future relationship with the European Union, significant political and economic uncertainty remains as both parties continue to work on the rules for implementation. The impact on the Company’s business of any treaties, laws and regulations that replace the existing European Union counterparts, or other governmental or regulatory actions taken by the U.K. or the European Union in connection with or subsequent to Brexit, cannot be predicted, including whether or not regulators will continue to approve or impose material conditions on the Company’s business activities. In addition, Brexit may lead to a downturn in the U.K. or other European economies and could lead to lower access to European markets, in general. Any of these effects, and others the Company cannot anticipate, could have a material adverse effect on its businesses in the U.K. and elsewhere.

In addition, further volatility and disruption in the financial markets could make it more difficult and expensive for the Company to obtain financing or refinance its existing indebtedness. These conditions could also impair the ability of those with whom the Company does business to satisfy their obligations to the Company, including as a result of their inability to obtain capital on acceptable terms. Although the Company believes that its cash on hand, operating cash flow and current access to credit and capital markets, including the Company’s revolving credit facility, will give it the ability to meet its financial needs for at least the next 12 months, there can be no assurance that any further volatility and disruption in domestic and global credit and capital markets will not impair the Company’s liquidity or increase its cost of borrowing.

Fluctuations in Foreign Currency Exchange Rates Could Have an Adverse Effect on the Company’s Results of Operations.

The Company is exposed to foreign currency exchange rate risk with respect to its consolidated debt when the debt is denominated in a currency other than the functional currency of the operations whose cash flows support the ability to repay or refinance such debt. As of June 30, 2021, the Foxtel operating subsidiaries, whose functional currency is Australian dollars, had approximately $354 million aggregate principal amount of outstanding indebtedness denominated in U.S. dollars. The Company’s policy is to hedge against the risk of foreign currency exchange rate movements with respect to this exposure where commercially reasonable. However, there can be no assurance that it will be able to continue to do so at a reasonable cost or at all, or that there will not be a default by any of the counterparties to those arrangements.

In addition, the Company is exposed to foreign currency translation risk because it has significant operations in a number of foreign jurisdictions and certain of its operations are conducted in currencies other than the Company’s reporting currency, primarily the Australian dollar and the British pound sterling. Since the Company’s financial statements are denominated in U.S. dollars, changes in foreign currency exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and other currencies have had, and will continue to have, a currency translation impact on the Company’s earnings when the results of those operations that are reported in foreign currencies are translated into U.S. dollars for inclusion in the Company’s consolidated financial statements, which could, in turn, have an adverse effect on its reported results of operations in a given period or in specific markets.

Risks Related to Information Technology, Cybersecurity and Data Protection

The Company Relies on Network and Information Systems and Other Technology Whose Failure or Misuse Could Cause a Disruption of Services or Loss, Improper Access to or Disclosure of Personal Data, Business Information, Including Intellectual Property, or Other Confidential Information, Resulting in Increased Costs, Loss of Revenue, Reputational Damage or Other Harm to the Company’s Business.

Network and information systems and other technologies, including those related to the Company’s content delivery networks and network management, are important to its business activities and contain the Company’s proprietary, confidential and sensitive business information, including personal data of its customers and personnel. The Company also relies on third party providers for certain technology and “cloud-based” systems and services that support a variety of business operations. Network and information systems-related events affecting the Company’s systems, or those of third parties upon which the Company’s business relies, such as computer compromises, cyber threats and attacks, computer viruses, worms or other destructive or disruptive software, process breakdowns, ransomware and denial of service attacks, malicious social engineering or other malicious activities by individuals or state-sponsored or other groups, or any combination of the foregoing, as well as power and internet outages, equipment failure, natural disasters, including extreme weather (which may occur with increasing frequency and intensity), terrorist activities, war, human or technological error or malfeasance that may affect such systems, could result in disruption of the Company’s services and business and/or loss, corruption, improper access to or disclosure of personal data, business information, including intellectual property, or other confidential information. Unauthorized parties may also fraudulently induce the Company’s employees or other agents to disclose sensitive or confidential information in order to gain access to the Company’s systems, facilities or data, or those of third parties with whom the Company does business. In addition, any design or manufacturing defects in, or the improper implementation of, hardware or software applications the Company develops or procures from third parties could unexpectedly disrupt the Company’s network and information systems or compromise information security. System redundancy may be

23

ineffective or inadequate, and the Company’s disaster recovery and business continuity planning may not be sufficient to address all potential cyber events or other disruptions.

In recent years, there has been a significant rise in the number of cyberattacks on companies’ network and information systems, and such attacks are becoming increasingly more sophisticated, targeted and difficult to detect and prevent against. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, remote work and remote access to the Company’s systems has increased significantly, which may adversely impact the effectiveness of the Company’s security measures. Consequently, the risks associated with such an event continue to increase, particularly as the Company’s digital businesses expand. The Company has experienced, and expects to continue to be subject to, cybersecurity threats and incidents, none of which have been material to the Company to date, individually or in the aggregate. However, there is no assurance that there will not be a cybersecurity threat or incident that has a material adverse effect in the future. While the Company and its vendors have developed and implemented security measures and internal controls that are designed to protect personal data, business information, including intellectual property, and other confidential information, to prevent system disruption, data loss or corruption, and to prevent or detect security breaches, such measures may not be successful in preventing these events from occurring, particularly given that techniques used to access, disable or degrade service, or sabotage systems change frequently. Additionally, it may be difficult to detect and defend against certain threats and vulnerabilities that can persist over extended periods of time. Any network and information systems-related events could require the Company to expend significant resources to remedy such event. Moreover, the development and maintenance of these measures is costly and requires ongoing monitoring and updating as technologies change and efforts to overcome security measures become more sophisticated. While the Company maintains cyber risk insurance, this insurance may not be sufficient to cover all losses from any future breaches of the Company’s systems and does not extend to reputational damage or costs incurred to improve or strengthen systems against future incidents. Cyber risk insurance has also become more difficult and expensive to obtain, and the Company cannot be certain that its current level of insurance or the breadth of its terms and conditions will continue to be available on economically reasonable terms.

A significant failure, compromise, breach or interruption of the Company’s systems, or those of third parties upon which its business relies, could result in a disruption of its operations, including degradation or disruption of service, equipment damage, customer, audience or advertiser dissatisfaction, damage to its reputation or brands, regulatory investigations and enforcement actions, lawsuits, remediation costs, a loss of or inability to attract new customers, audience, advertisers or business partners or loss of revenues and other financial losses. If any such failure, compromise, breach, interruption or similar event results in improper access to or disclosure of information maintained in the Company’s information systems and networks or those of its vendors, including financial, personal and credit card data, as well as confidential and proprietary information relating to personnel, customers, vendors and the Company’s business, including its intellectual property, the Company could also be subject to liability under relevant contractual obligations and laws and regulations protecting personal data and privacy, as well as private individual or class action lawsuits. The Company may also be required to notify certain governmental agencies and/or regulators (including the appropriate EU supervisory authority) about any actual or perceived data security breach, as well as the individuals who are affected by any such incident, within strict time periods. In addition, media or other reports of perceived security vulnerabilities in the Company’s systems or those of third parties upon which its business relies, even if nothing has actually been attempted or occurred, could also adversely impact the Company’s brand and reputation and materially affect its business, results of operations and financial condition.

Failure to Comply with Complex and Evolving U.S. and Foreign Laws and Regulations Regarding Privacy, Data Use and Data Protection Could Have an Adverse Effect on the Company’s Business, Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

The Company’s business activities are subject to various and increasing laws and regulations in the United States and internationally governing the collection, use, sharing, protection and retention of personal data, which have implications for how such data is managed. Many of these laws and regulations are increasingly complex and continue to evolve, and substantial uncertainty surrounds their scope and application. Moreover, data privacy and security laws may potentially conflict from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Complying with these laws and regulations could be costly and resource-intensive, require the Company to change its business practices, or limit or restrict aspects of the Company’s business in a manner adverse to its business operations, including by inhibiting or preventing the collection of information that would enable it to provide more targeted, data-driven advertising offerings. The Company’s failure to comply, even if inadvertent or in good faith, or as a result of a compromise, breach or interruption of the Company’s systems by a third party, could result in exposure to enforcement by U.S. federal, state or local or foreign governments or private parties, as well as significant negative publicity and reputational damage. Examples of such laws include the European Union’s GDPR and the UK DPA, each of which expands the regulation of personal data processing throughout the European Union and the U.K., respectively, and significantly increases maximum penalties for non-compliance, California’s CCPA and forthcoming CPRA and Virginia’s CDPA, which establish certain transparency rules, put greater restrictions on the collection, use and sharing of personal information of their respective state residents and provide such

24

residents with certain rights regarding their personal information. See “Governmental Regulation—Data Privacy and Security” for more information.

Risks Related to Financial Results and Position

The Indebtedness of the Company and Certain of its Subsidiaries may Affect their Ability to Operate their Businesses, and may have a Material Adverse Effect on the Company’s Financial Condition and Results of Operations. The Company and its Subsidiaries may be able to Incur Substantially More Debt, which Could Further Exacerbate the Risks Described Herein.

As of June 30, 2021, News Corp had $2.15 billion of total outstanding indebtedness (excluding related party debt) with maturities ranging from fiscal 2023 through fiscal 2029, including $854 million and $314 million, respectively, of indebtedness held by its non-wholly owned subsidiaries, Foxtel and REA Group (collectively with News Corp, the “Debtors”). The indebtedness of the Debtors and the terms of their financing arrangements could: (1) limit their ability to obtain additional financing in the future; (2) make it more difficult for them to satisfy their obligations under the terms of their financing arrangements, including the provisions of any relevant debt instruments, credit agreements, indentures and similar or associated documents (collectively, the “Debt Documents”); (3) limit their ability to refinance their indebtedness on terms acceptable to them or at all; (4) limit their flexibility to plan for and adjust to changing business and market conditions in the industries in which they operate and increase their vulnerability to general adverse economic and industry conditions; (5) require them to dedicate a substantial portion of their cash flow to make interest and principal payments on their debt, thereby limiting the availability of their cash flow to fund future investments, capital expenditures, working capital, business activities, acquisitions and other general corporate requirements; (6) subject them to higher levels of indebtedness than their competitors, which may cause a competitive disadvantage and may reduce their flexibility in responding to increased competition; and (7) in the case of the Company’s fixed rate indebtedness, which includes prepayment penalties, diminish the Company’s ability to benefit from any future decrease in interest rates.

The ability of the Debtors to satisfy their debt service obligations (including any repurchase obligations) and to fund other cash needs will depend on the Debtors’ future performance and other factors such as changes in interest rates affecting the Debtors’ variable rate indebtedness. Although the Company hedges a portion of this interest rate exposure, there can be no assurance that it will be able to continue to do so at a reasonable cost or at all, or that there will not be a default by any of the counterparties. If the Debtors do not generate enough cash to pay their debt service obligations and fund their other cash requirements, they may be required to restructure or refinance all or part of their existing debt, sell assets, borrow more money or raise additional equity, any or all of which may not be available on reasonable terms or at all. The Company and its subsidiaries, including the Debtors, may also be able to incur substantial additional indebtedness in the future, which could exacerbate the effects described elsewhere in this “Item 1A. Risk Factors.”

In addition, the Debtors’ outstanding Debt Documents contain financial and operating covenants that may limit their operational and financial flexibility. These covenants include compliance with, or maintenance of, certain financial tests and ratios and may, depending on the applicable Debtor and subject to certain exceptions, restrict or prohibit such Debtor and/or its subsidiaries from, among other things, incurring or guaranteeing debt, undertaking certain transactions (including certain investments and acquisitions), disposing of certain properties or assets (including subsidiary stock), merging or consolidating with any other person, making financial accommodation available, entering into certain other financing arrangements, creating or permitting certain liens, engaging in transactions with affiliates, making repayments of certain other loans, undergoing fundamental business changes and/or paying dividends or making other restricted payments and investments. Various risks, uncertainties and events beyond the Debtors’ control could affect their ability to comply with these restrictions and covenants. In the event any of these covenants are breached and such breach results in a default under any Debt Documents, the lenders or noteholders, as applicable, may accelerate the maturity of the indebtedness under the applicable Debt Documents, which could result in a cross-default under other outstanding Debt Documents and could have a material adverse impact on the Company’s business, results of operation and financial condition.

The Company Could Suffer Losses Due to Asset Impairment and Restructuring Charges.

As a result of changes in the Company’s industry and market conditions, the Company has recognized, and may in the future recognize, impairment charges for write-downs of goodwill, intangible assets, investments and other long-lived assets, as well as restructuring charges relating to the reorganization of its businesses, which negatively impact the Company’s results of operations and, in the case of cash restructuring charges, its financial condition. Impairments and restructuring charges may also negatively impact the Company’s taxes, including its ability to realize its deferred tax assets and deduct certain interest costs. The Company’s management must regularly evaluate the carrying value of goodwill and other intangible assets expected to contribute indefinitely to the Company’s cash flows in order to determine whether, based on projected discounted future cash flows and other market assumptions, the carrying value for such assets exceeds current fair value and the Company should recognize an

25

impairment. In accordance with GAAP, the Company performs an annual impairment assessment of its recorded goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets during the fourth quarter of each fiscal year. The Company also continually evaluates whether current factors or indicators, such as prevailing conditions in the business environment, credit and capital markets or the economy generally and actual or projected operating results, require the performance of an interim impairment assessment of those assets, as well as other investments and long-lived assets, or require the Company to engage in any additional business restructurings to address these conditions. For example, any significant shortfall, now or in the future, in advertising revenue or subscribers, the expected popularity of the content for which the Company has acquired rights and/or consumer acceptance of its products could lead to a downward revision in the fair value of certain reporting units. Any downward revisions in the fair value of a reporting unit, indefinite-lived intangible assets, investments or other long-lived assets could result in additional impairments for which non-cash charges would be required, and any such charge could be material to the Company’s reported results of operations. The Company may also incur additional restructuring charges in the future if it is required to further realign its resources in response to significant shortfalls in revenue or other adverse trends.

The Company Could Be Subject to Significant Additional Tax Liabilities, which Could Adversely Affect its Operating Results and Financial Condition.

The Company is subject to taxation in U.S. federal, state and local jurisdictions and various non-U.S. jurisdictions, including Australia and the U.K. The Company’s effective tax rate is impacted by the tax laws, regulations, practices and interpretations in the jurisdictions in which it operates and may fluctuate significantly from period to period depending on, among other things, the geographic mix of the Company’s profits and losses, changes in tax laws and regulations or their application and interpretation, the outcome of tax audits and changes in valuation allowances associated with the Company’s deferred tax assets. New proposals at the U.S. federal level to increase the U.S. corporate tax rate and minimum taxes on non-U.S. income could, if enacted, have an adverse impact on the Company’s future tax rate and increase its tax provision. The Company may be required to record additional valuation allowances if, among other things, adverse economic conditions negatively impact the Company’s ability to realize its deferred tax assets. Evaluating and estimating the Company’s tax provision, current and deferred tax assets and liabilities and other tax accruals requires significant management judgment, and there are often transactions for which the ultimate tax determination is uncertain.

The Company’s tax returns are routinely audited by various tax authorities. Tax authorities may not agree with the treatment of items reported in the Company’s tax returns or positions taken by the Company, and as a result, tax-related settlements or litigation may occur, resulting in additional income tax liabilities against the Company. Although the Company believes it has appropriately accrued for the expected outcome of tax reviews and examinations and any related litigation, the final outcomes of these matters could differ materially from the amounts recorded in the Financial Statements. As a result, the Company may be required to recognize additional charges in its Statements of Operations and pay significant additional amounts with respect to current or prior periods, or its taxes in the future could increase, which could adversely affect its operating results and financial condition.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) continues to develop a framework of globally coordinated reforms to address the tax challenges arising from globalization and the digitalization of the economy, including expanded taxing rights for countries and the adoption of a global minimum taxation regime. The scope and application of the framework continues to evolve, and its outcome may alter aspects of how the Company’s tax obligations are determined in countries in which it does business. Several jurisdictions have separately enacted new digital services taxes which have had limited impact on the Company’s overall tax obligations, however, the Company continues to monitor proposals as they are introduced. If new taxes on digital services are imposed on the Company, it could have an adverse impact on its business and financial performance.

Risks Related to Legal and Regulatory Matters

Adverse Results from Litigation or Other Proceedings Could Impact the Company’s Business Practices and Operating Results.

From time to time, the Company is party to litigation, as well as to regulatory and other proceedings with governmental authorities and administrative agencies, including with respect to antitrust, tax, data privacy and security, intellectual property, employment and other matters. See Note 16 to the Financial Statements for a discussion of certain matters. The outcome of these matters and other litigation and proceedings is subject to significant uncertainty, and it is possible that an adverse resolution of one or more such proceedings could result in reputational harm and/or significant monetary damages, injunctive relief or settlement costs that could adversely affect the Company’s results of operations or financial condition as well as the Company’s ability to conduct its business as it is presently being conducted. In addition, regardless of merit or outcome, such proceedings can have an adverse impact on the Company as a result of legal costs, diversion of management and other personnel and other factors.

26

The Company’s Business Could Be Adversely Impacted by Changes in Law, Governmental Policy and Regulation.

Various aspects of the Company’s activities are subject to regulation in numerous jurisdictions around the world, and the introduction of new laws and regulations in countries where the Company’s products and services are produced or distributed, and changes in the enforcement of existing laws and regulations in those countries, could have a negative impact on its interests. For example, the Company’s Australian operating businesses may be adversely affected by changes in government policy, regulation or legislation, or the application or enforcement thereof, applying to companies in the Australian media industry or to Australian companies in general. See “Governmental Regulation—Australian Media Regulation” for more information. In addition, the Company’s newspaper publishing businesses in the U.K. are subject to greater regulation and oversight as a result of the implementation of recommendations of the Leveson inquiry into the U.K. press, and the Company’s radio stations in the U.K. and Ireland are subject to governmental regulation by the relevant broadcast authorities. See “Governmental Regulation—U.K. Press Regulation” and “—U.K. Radio Broadcasting Regulation,” respectively, for more information. Laws and regulations may vary between local, state, federal and international jurisdictions, and the enforcement of those laws and regulations may be inconsistent and unpredictable. The Company may incur substantial costs or be required to change its business practices in order to comply with applicable laws and regulations and could incur substantial penalties or other liabilities in the event of any failure to comply.

Risks Related to Intellectual Property

Theft of the Company’s Content, including Digital Piracy and Signal Theft, may Decrease Revenue and Adversely Affect the Company’s Business and Profitability.

The Company’s success depends in part on its ability to maintain and monetize the intellectual property rights in its content, and theft of its brands, programming, digital content, books and other copyrighted material affects the value of its content. Developments in technology, including the wide availability of higher internet bandwidth and reduced storage costs, increase the threat of content piracy by making it easier to stream, duplicate and widely distribute pirated material, including from other less-regulated countries into the Company’s primary markets. The Company seeks to limit the threat of content piracy by, among other means, preventing unauthorized access to its content through the use of programming content encryption, signal encryption and other security access devices and digital rights management software, as well as by obtaining site blocking orders against pirate streaming and torrent sites and a variety of other actions. However, these efforts may be costly and are not always successful, particularly as infringers continue to develop tools that undermine security features and enable them to disguise their identities online. The proliferation of unauthorized use of the Company’s content undermines lawful distribution channels and reduces the revenue that the Company could receive from the legitimate sale and distribution of its content. Protection of the Company’s intellectual property rights is dependent on the scope and duration of its rights as defined by applicable laws in the U.S. and abroad, and if those laws are drafted or interpreted in ways that limit the extent or duration of the Company’s rights, or if existing laws are changed or not effectively enforced, the Company’s ability to generate revenue from its intellectual property may decrease, or the cost of obtaining and maintaining rights may increase. In addition, the failure of legal and technological protections to evolve as piracy and associated technological tools become more sophisticated could make it more difficult for the Company to adequately protect its intellectual property, which could, in turn, negatively impact its value and further increase the Company’s enforcement costs.

Failure by the Company to Protect Certain Intellectual Property and Brands, or Infringement Claims by Third Parties, Could Adversely Impact the Company’s Business, Results of Operation and Financial Condition.

The Company’s businesses rely on a combination of trademarks, trade names, copyrights, patents, domain names, trade secrets and other proprietary rights, as well as licenses, confidentiality agreements and other contractual arrangements, to establish, obtain and protect the intellectual property and brand names used in their businesses. The Company believes its proprietary trademarks, trade names, copyrights, patents, domain names, trade secrets and other intellectual property rights are important to its continued success and its competitive position. However, the Company cannot ensure that these intellectual property rights or those of its licensors (including licenses relating to sports programming rights, set-top box technology and related systems, the NAR License and the Fox Licenses) and suppliers will be enforced or upheld if challenged or that these rights will protect the Company against infringement claims by third parties, and effective intellectual property protection may not be available in every country or region in which the Company operates or where its products and services are available. Efforts to protect and enforce the Company’s intellectual property rights may be costly, and any failure by the Company or its licensors and suppliers to effectively protect and enforce its or their intellectual property or brands, or any infringement claims by third parties, could adversely impact the Company’s business, results of operations or financial condition. Claims of intellectual property infringement could require the Company to enter into royalty or licensing agreements on unfavorable terms (if such agreements are available at all), require the Company to spend substantial sums to defend against or settle such claims or to satisfy any judgment rendered against it, or cease any further use of the applicable intellectual property, which could in turn require the

27

Company to change its business practices or offerings and limit its ability to compete effectively. Even if the Company believes any such challenges or claims are without merit, they can be time-consuming and costly to defend and divert management’s attention and resources away from its business. In addition, the Company may be contractually required to indemnify other parties against liabilities arising out of any third party infringement claims.

Risks Related to the Company’s Common Stock

The Market Price of the Company’s Stock May Fluctuate Significantly.

The Company cannot predict the prices at which its common stock may trade. The market price of the Company’s common stock may fluctuate significantly, depending upon many factors, some of which may be beyond its control, including: (1) the Company’s quarterly or annual earnings, or those of other companies in its industry; (2) actual or anticipated fluctuations in the Company’s operating results; (3) success or failure of the Company’s business strategy; (4) the Company’s ability to obtain financing as needed; (5) changes in accounting standards, policies, guidance, interpretations or principles; (6) changes in laws and regulations affecting the Company’s business; (7) announcements by the Company or its competitors of significant new business developments or the addition or loss of significant customers; (8) announcements by the Company or its competitors of significant acquisitions or dispositions; (9) changes in earnings estimates by securities analysts or the Company’s ability to meet its earnings guidance, if any; (10) the operating and stock price performance of other comparable companies; (11) investor perception of the Company and the industries in which it operates; (12) results from material litigation or governmental investigations; (13) changes in capital gains taxes and taxes on dividends affecting stockholders; (14) overall market fluctuations and general economic conditions; and (15) changes in the amounts and frequency of dividends or share repurchases, if any.

Certain of the Company’s Directors and Officers May Have Actual or Potential Conflicts of Interest Because of Their Equity Ownership in Fox Corporation (“FOX”) and/or Because They Also Serve as Officers and/or on the Board of Directors of FOX, Which May Result in the Diversion of Certain Corporate Opportunities to FOX.

Certain of the Company’s directors and executive officers own shares of FOX’s common stock, and the individual holdings may be significant for some of these individuals compared to their total assets. In addition, certain of the Company’s officers and directors also serve as officers and/or as directors of FOX, including K. Rupert Murdoch, who serves as the Company’s Executive Chairman and Chairman of FOX, and Lachlan K. Murdoch, who serves as the Company’s Co-Chairman and Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of FOX. This ownership or service to both companies may create, or may create the appearance of, conflicts of interest when these directors and officers are faced with decisions that could have different implications for the Company and FOX. For example, potential conflicts of interest could arise in connection with the resolution of any dispute that may arise between the Company and FOX regarding the terms of the agreements governing the indemnification of certain matters. In addition to any other arrangements that the Company and FOX may agree to implement, the Company and FOX agreed that officers and directors who serve at both companies will recuse themselves from decisions where conflicts arise due to their positions at both companies.

The Company’s Amended and Restated By-laws acknowledge that the Company’s directors and officers, as well as certain of its stockholders, including K. Rupert Murdoch, certain members of his family and certain family trusts (so long as such persons continue to own, in the aggregate, 10% or more of the voting stock of each of the Company and FOX), each of which is referred to as a covered stockholder, are or may become stockholders, directors, officers, employees or agents of FOX and certain of its affiliates. The Company’s Amended and Restated By-laws further provide that any such overlapping person will not be liable to the Company, or to any of its stockholders, for breach of any fiduciary duty that would otherwise exist because such individual directs a corporate opportunity (other than certain types of restricted business opportunities set forth in the Company’s Amended and Restated By-laws) to FOX instead of the Company. This could result in an overlapping person submitting any corporate opportunities other than restricted business opportunities to FOX instead of the Company.

Certain Provisions of the Company’s Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Amended and Restated By-laws, the Company’s Fourth Amended and Restated Stockholder Rights Agreement and the Ownership of the Company’s Common Stock by the Murdoch Family Trust May Discourage Takeovers, and the Concentration of Ownership Will Affect the Voting Results of Matters Submitted for Stockholder Approval.

The Company’s Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Amended and Restated By-laws contain certain anti-takeover provisions that may make more difficult or expensive a tender offer, change in control, or takeover attempt that is opposed by the Company’s Board of Directors or certain stockholders holding a significant percentage of the voting power of the Company’s outstanding voting stock. In particular, the Company’s Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Amended and Restated By-laws provide for, among other things:

28

•a dual class common equity capital structure;

•a prohibition on stockholders taking any action by written consent without a meeting;

•special stockholders’ meeting to be called only by the Board of Directors, the Chairman or a Vice or Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors, or the holders of not less than 20% of the voting power of the Company’s outstanding voting stock;

•the requirement that stockholders give the Company advance notice to nominate candidates for election to the Board of Directors or to make stockholder proposals at a stockholders’ meeting;

•the requirement of an affirmative vote of at least 65% of the voting power of the Company’s outstanding voting stock to amend or repeal its by-laws;

•vacancies on the Board of Directors to be filled only by a majority vote of directors then in office;

•certain restrictions on the transfer of the Company’s shares; and

•the Board of Directors to issue, without stockholder approval, Preferred Stock and Series Common Stock with such terms as the Board of Directors may determine.

These provisions could discourage potential acquisition proposals and could delay or prevent a change in control of the Company, even in the case where a majority of the stockholders may consider such proposals, if effective, desirable.

In addition, in connection with the Separation, the Company’s Board of Directors adopted a stockholder rights agreement, which it extended in June 2014, June 2015, June 2018 and again in June 2021. Pursuant to the fourth amended and restated stockholder rights agreement, each outstanding share of the Company’s common stock has attached to it a right entitling its holder to purchase from the Company additional shares of its Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock in the event that a person or group acquires beneficial ownership of 15% or more of the then-outstanding Class B Common Stock without approval of the Company’s Board of Directors, subject to exceptions for persons beneficially owning 15% or more of the Company’s Class B Common Stock immediately following the Separation. The stockholder rights agreement could make it more difficult for a third-party to acquire the Company’s voting common stock without the approval of its Board of Directors. The rights expire on June 18, 2022, except as otherwise provided in the rights agreement. Further, as a result of his ability to appoint certain members of the board of directors of the corporate trustee of the Murdoch Family Trust, which beneficially owns less than one percent of the Company’s outstanding Class A Common Stock and approximately 38.4% of the Company’s Class B Common Stock as of June 30, 2021, K. Rupert Murdoch may be deemed to be a beneficial owner of the shares beneficially owned by the Murdoch Family Trust. K. Rupert Murdoch, however, disclaims any beneficial ownership of these shares. Also, K. Rupert Murdoch beneficially owns or may be deemed to beneficially own an additional one percent of the Company’s Class B Common Stock and less than one percent of the Company’s Class A Common Stock as of June 30, 2021. Thus, K. Rupert Murdoch may be deemed to beneficially own in the aggregate less than one percent of the Company’s Class A Common Stock and approximately 39.4% of the Company’s Class B Common Stock as of June 30, 2021. This concentration of voting power could discourage third parties from making proposals involving an acquisition of the Company. Additionally, the ownership concentration of Class B Common Stock by the Murdoch Family Trust increases the likelihood that proposals submitted for stockholder approval that are supported by the Murdoch Family Trust will be adopted and proposals that the Murdoch Family Trust does not support will not be adopted, whether or not such proposals to stockholders are also supported by the other holders of Class B Common Stock. Furthermore, the adoption of the fourth amended and restated stockholder rights agreement will prevent, unless the Company’s Board of Directors otherwise determines at the time, other potential stockholders from acquiring a similar ownership position in the Company’s Class B Common Stock and, accordingly, could prevent a meaningful challenge to the Murdoch Family Trust’s influence over matters submitted for stockholder approval.

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

None.

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES

The Company owns and leases various real properties in the U.S., Europe, Australia and Asia that are utilized in the conduct of its businesses. Each of these properties is considered to be in good condition, adequate for its purpose and suitably utilized according

29

Table of Contents

to the individual nature and requirements of the relevant operations. The Company’s policy is to improve and replace property as considered appropriate to meet the needs of the individual operation.

United States

The Company’s principal real properties in the U.S. are the following:

(a)The leased U.S. headquarters of the Company, located at 1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York. The space includes the executive and corporate offices of the Company, the executive and editorial offices of Dow Jones and the editorial offices of the Post;

(b)The leased offices of HarperCollins U.S. in New York, New York;

(c)The leased offices of HarperCollins U.S. in Scranton, Pennsylvania;

(d)The leased offices of Move in Santa Clara, California;

(e)The office space campus owned by the Company in South Brunswick, New Jersey; and

(f)The leased offices of Opcity in Austin, Texas.

Europe

The Company’s principal real properties in Europe are the following:

(a)The leased headquarters and editorial offices of the London operations of News UK, Dow Jones and HarperCollins and the broadcast studios for the Company’s U.K. radio stations at The News Building, 1 London Bridge Street, London, England;

(b)The newspaper production and printing facilities for its U.K. newspapers, which consist of:

1.The leased office space at each of Fleet House, Peterborough, England; Dublin, Ireland; and Glasgow City Centre, Scotland; and

2.The freehold interests in each of a publishing and printing facility in Broxbourne, England and printing facilities in Knowsley, England and North Lanarkshire, Scotland; and

(c)The leased warehouse and office facilities of HarperCollins Publishers Limited in Glasgow, Scotland.

Australia and Asia

The Company’s principal real properties in Australia and Asia are the following:

(a)The Australian newspaper production and printing facilities which consist of:

1.The Company-owned print center and office building in Sydney, Australia at which The Australian, The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph are printed and published, respectively;

2.The leased print center and office facility in Melbourne, Australia at which Herald Sun and Sunday Herald Sun are printed and published, respectively;

3.The Company-owned print center and office building in Adelaide, Australia at which The Advertiser and Sunday Mail are printed and published, respectively; and

4.The Company-owned print center and office building in Brisbane, Australia at which The Courier Mail and The Sunday Mail are printed and published, respectively;

(b)The leased headquarters of Foxtel in Sydney, Australia;

(c)The leased corporate offices and call center of Foxtel in Melbourne, Australia;

(d)The leased offices and studios of FOX SPORTS Australia in Sydney, Australia;

(e)The leased corporate offices of REA Group in Melbourne, Australia; and

(f)The leased office space of Dow Jones in Hong Kong.

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

See Note 16—Commitments and Contingencies in the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements.

30

Table of Contents

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Not applicable.

31

PART II

ITEM 5.    MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

News Corporation’s Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock are listed and traded on The Nasdaq Global Select Market (“Nasdaq”), its principal market, under the symbols “NWSA” and “NWS,” respectively. CHESS Depositary Interests (“CDIs”) representing the Company’s Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock are listed and traded on the Australian Securities Exchange (“ASX”) under the symbols “NWSLV” and “NWS,” respectively. As of July 30, 2021, there were approximately 17,000 holders of record of shares of Class A Common Stock and 400 holders of record of shares of Class B Common Stock.

Dividends

For information regarding dividends, see Note 12—Stockholders' Equity in the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

In May 2013, the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board of Directors”) authorized the Company to repurchase up to an aggregate of $500 million of its Class A Common Stock. No stock repurchases were made during the fiscal years ended June 30, 2021, 2020 and 2019. Over the life of the program through July 30, 2021, the Company cumulatively repurchased approximately 5.2 million shares of Class A Common Stock for an aggregate cost of approximately $71 million. The remaining authorized amount under the stock repurchase program as of July 30, 2021 was approximately $429 million. All decisions regarding any future stock repurchases are at the sole discretion of a duly appointed committee of the Board of Directors and management. The committee’s decisions regarding future stock repurchases will be evaluated from time to time in light of many factors, including the Company’s financial condition, earnings, capital requirements and debt facility covenants, other contractual restrictions, as well as legal requirements, regulatory constraints, industry practice, market volatility and other factors that the committee may deem relevant. The stock repurchase authorization may be modified, extended, suspended or discontinued at any time by the Board of Directors and the Board of Directors cannot provide any assurances that any additional shares will be repurchased.

The Company did not purchase any of its Class A or Class B Common Stock during the fiscal years ended June 30, 2021, 2020 and 2019.

ITEM 6.    [RESERVED]

Not applicable.

32

ITEM 7.    MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

This discussion and analysis contains statements that constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. All statements that are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. The words “expect,” “will,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “predict,” “believe” and similar expressions and variations thereof are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements appear in a number of places in this discussion and analysis and include statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of the Company, its directors or its officers with respect to, among other things, trends affecting the Company’s financial condition or results of operations, the Company’s strategy and strategic initiatives and the outcome of contingencies such as litigation and investigations. Readers are cautioned that any forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties. More information regarding these risks and uncertainties and other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements is set forth under the heading “Risk Factors” in Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K (the “Annual Report”). The Company does not ordinarily make projections of its future operating results and undertakes no obligation (and expressly disclaims any obligation) to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Readers should carefully review this document and the other documents filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). This section should be read together with the Consolidated Financial Statements of News Corporation and related notes set forth elsewhere in this Annual Report.

The following discussion and analysis omits discussion of fiscal 2019. Please see “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 for a discussion on fiscal 2019.

INTRODUCTION

News Corporation (together with its subsidiaries, “News Corporation,” “News Corp,” the “Company,” “we,” or “us”) is a global diversified media and information services company comprised of businesses across a range of media, including: digital real estate services, subscription video services in Australia, news and information services and book publishing.

The consolidated financial statements are referred to herein as the “Consolidated Financial Statements.” The consolidated statements of operations are referred to herein as the “Statements of Operations.” The consolidated balance sheets are referred to herein as the “Balance Sheets.” The consolidated statements of cash flows are referred to herein as the “Statements of Cash Flows.” The Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“GAAP”).

Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations is intended to help provide an understanding of the Company’s financial condition, changes in financial condition and results of operations. This discussion is organized as follows:

•Overview of the Company’s Businesses—This section provides a general description of the Company’s businesses, as well as developments that occurred during the two fiscal years ended June 30, 2021 and through the date of this filing that the Company believes are important in understanding its results of operations and financial condition or to disclose known trends.

•Results of Operations—This section provides an analysis of the Company’s results of operations for the two fiscal years ended June 30, 2021. This analysis is presented on both a consolidated basis and a segment basis. Supplemental revenue information is also included for reporting units within certain segments and is presented on a gross basis, before eliminations in consolidation. In addition, a brief description is provided of significant transactions and events that impact the comparability of the results being analyzed. The Company maintains a 52-53 week fiscal year ending on the Sunday closest to June 30 in each year. Fiscal 2021 and 2020 each included 52 weeks.

•Liquidity and Capital Resources—This section provides an analysis of the Company’s cash flows for the two fiscal years ended June 30, 2021, as well as a discussion of the Company’s financial arrangements and outstanding commitments, both firm and contingent, that existed as of June 30, 2021.

•Critical Accounting Policies—This section discusses accounting policies considered important to the Company’s financial condition and results of operations, and which require significant judgment and estimates on the part of management in application. In addition, Note 2 to the Consolidated Financial Statements summarizes the Company’s significant accounting policies, including the critical accounting policies discussed in this section.

33

OVERVIEW OF THE COMPANY’S BUSINESSES

The Company manages and reports its businesses in the following six segments:

•Digital Real Estate Services—The Digital Real Estate Services segment consists of the Company’s 61.4% interest in REA Group and 80% interest in Move. The remaining 20% interest in Move is held by REA Group. REA Group is a market-leading digital media business specializing in property and is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (“ASX”) (ASX: REA). REA Group advertises property and property-related services on its websites and mobile apps, including Australia’s leading residential, commercial and share property websites, realestate.com.au, realcommercial.com.au and Flatmates.com.au, and property portals in India and East Asia. In addition, REA Group provides property-related data to the financial sector and financial services through an end-to-end digital property search and financing experience and a mortgage broking offering.

Move is a leading provider of digital real estate services in the U.S. and primarily operates realtor.com®, a premier real estate information, advertising and services platform. Move offers real estate advertising solutions to agents and brokers, including its ConnectionsSM Plus and AdvantageSM Pro products as well as its referral-based services. Move also offers online tools and services to do-it-yourself landlords and tenants, as well as professional software and services products.

•Subscription Video Services—The Company’s Subscription Video Services segment provides sports, entertainment and news services to pay-TV and streaming subscribers and other commercial licensees, primarily via cable, satellite and internet distribution, and consists of (i) the Company’s 65% interest in the Foxtel Group (with the remaining 35% interest held by Telstra, an ASX-listed telecommunications company) and (ii) Australian News Channel (“ANC”). The Foxtel Group is the largest Australian-based subscription television provider, with nearly 200 channels covering sports, general entertainment, movies, documentaries, music, children’s programming and news. Foxtel and the Kayo Sports streaming service offer the leading sports programming content in Australia, with broadcast rights to live sporting events including: National Rugby League, Australian Football League, Cricket Australia and various motorsports programming. The Foxtel Group also operates BINGE, its on-demand entertainment streaming service, and Foxtel Now, a streaming service that provides access across Foxtel's live and on-demand content.

ANC operates the SKY NEWS network, Australia’s 24-hour multi-channel, multi-platform news service. ANC channels are distributed throughout Australia and New Zealand and available on Foxtel and Sky Network Television NZ. ANC also owns and operates the international Australia Channel IPTV service and offers content across a variety of digital media platforms, including web, mobile and third party providers.

•Dow Jones—The Dow Jones segment consists of Dow Jones, a global provider of news and business information, which distributes its content and data through a variety of media channels including newspapers, newswires, websites, applications, or apps, for mobile devices, tablets and e-book readers, newsletters, magazines, proprietary databases, live journalism, video and podcasts. The Dow Jones segment’s products, which target individual consumers and enterprise customers, include The Wall Street Journal, Factiva, Dow Jones Risk & Compliance, Dow Jones Newswires, Barron’s, MarketWatch and Investor’s Business Daily.

•Book Publishing—The Book Publishing segment consists of HarperCollins, the second largest consumer book publisher in the world, with operations in 17 countries and particular strengths in general fiction, nonfiction, children’s and religious publishing. HarperCollins owns more than 120 branded publishing imprints, including Harper, William Morrow, HarperCollins Children’s Books, Avon, Harlequin and Christian publishers Zondervan and Thomas Nelson, and publishes works by well-known authors such as Harper Lee, George Orwell, Agatha Christie and Zora Neale Hurston, as well as global author brands including J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Daniel Silva, Karin Slaughter and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It is also home to many beloved children’s books and authors and a significant Christian publishing business.

•News Media—The News Media segment consists primarily of News Corp Australia, News UK and the New York Post and includes, among other publications, The Australian, The Daily Telegraph, Herald Sun, The Courier Mail and The Advertiser in Australia and The Times, The Sunday Times, The Sun and The Sun on Sunday in the U.K. This segment also includes Wireless Group, operator of talkSPORT, the leading sports radio network in the U.K., and Storyful, a social media content agency. The segment included News America Marketing until the completion of the sale of the business on May 5, 2020.

•Other—The Other segment consists primarily of general corporate overhead expenses, costs related to the U.K. Newspaper Matters (as defined in Note 16—Commitments and Contingencies to the Consolidated Financial Statements) and transformation costs associated with the Company’s ongoing cost reduction initiatives.

34

Digital Real Estate Services

The Digital Real Estate Services segment generates revenue through property and property-related advertising and services, including: the sale of real estate listing and lead generation products and referral-based services to agents, brokers and developers; real estate-related and property rental-related services; display advertising on residential real estate and commercial property sites; and residential property data services to the financial sector. The Digital Real Estate Services segment also generates revenue through licenses of certain professional software products on a subscription basis and fees and commissions from referrals generated through its end-to-end digital property search and financing offering and mortgage broking services. Significant expenses associated with these sites, services and software solutions include development costs, advertising and promotional expenses, hosting and support services, salaries, broker commissions, employee benefits and other routine overhead expenses.

Consumers overwhelmingly turn to the internet and mobile devices for real estate information and services. The Digital Real Estate Services segment’s success depends on its continued innovation to provide products and services that are useful for consumers and real estate, mortgage and financial services professionals and attractive to its advertisers. The Digital Real Estate Services segment operates in a highly competitive digital environment with other operators of real estate and property websites and mobile apps.

Subscription Video Services

The Company’s Subscription Video Services segment consists of (i) its 65% interest in the Foxtel Group and (ii) ANC. The Foxtel Group is the largest Australian-based subscription television provider through its Foxtel pay-TV and Kayo Sports, BINGE and Foxtel Now streaming services. The Foxtel Group generates revenue primarily through subscription revenue as well as advertising revenue.

The Foxtel Group competes for audiences primarily with a variety of other video content providers, such as traditional Free-To-Air (“FTA”) TV operators in Australia, including the three major commercial FTA networks and two major government-funded FTA broadcasters, and content providers that deliver video programming over the internet. These providers include, Internet Protocol television, or IPTV, subscription video-on-demand and broadcast video-on-demand providers; streaming services offered through digital media providers; as well as programmers and distributors that provide content directly to consumers over the internet.

ANC operates the SKY NEWS network, Australia’s 24-hour multi-channel, multi-platform news service, and also owns and operates the Australia Channel IPTV service for international markets. Revenue is primarily derived from monthly affiliate fees received from pay-TV providers based on the number of subscribers and advertising.

The most significant operating expenses of the Subscription Video Services segment are the acquisition and production expenses related to programming, the expenses related to operating the technical facilities of the broadcast operations, expenses related to cable, satellite, internet and broadband transmission costs and studio and engineering expense. The expenses associated with licensing certain sports programming rights are recognized during the applicable season or event, which can cause results at the Subscription Video Services segment to fluctuate based on the timing and mix of the Foxtel Group’s local and international sports programming. Sports programming rights costs associated with a dedicated channel are amortized over 12 months. Other expenses include subscriber acquisition costs such as sales costs and marketing and promotional expenses related to improving the market visibility and awareness of the channels and their programming. Additional expenses include salaries, employee benefits, rent and other routine overhead expenses.

Dow Jones

The Dow Jones segment’s products target individual consumers and enterprise customers. Revenue from the Dow Jones segment’s consumer business is derived primarily from circulation, which includes subscription and single-copy sales of its digital and print consumer products, the sale of digital and print advertising, licensing fees for its print and digital consumer content and participation fees for its live journalism events. Circulation revenues are dependent on the content of the Dow Jones segment’s consumer products, prices of its and/or competitors’ products, as well as promotional activities and news cycles. Advertising revenue is dependent on a number of factors, including demand for the Dow Jones segment’s consumer products, general economic and business conditions, demographics of the customer base, advertising rates and effectiveness and brand strength and reputation. Advertising revenues are also subject to seasonality, with revenues typically highest in the Company's second fiscal quarter due to the end-of-year holiday season. In addition, the traditional consumer print business faces challenges from alternative media formats and shifting consumer preferences, which have adversely affected, and are expected to continue to adversely affect, both print circulation and advertising revenues. Advertising, in particular, has been impacted by long-term structural movements in advertising spending from print to digital. The increasing range of advertising choices and formats has

35

resulted in audience fragmentation and increased competition. Technologies and policies have also been and will continue to be developed and implemented that may make it more difficult to target and measure the effectiveness of digital advertising or allow users to block advertising on websites and mobile devices, which may impact digital advertising rates or revenues. As a multi-platform news provider, the Dow Jones segment recognizes the importance of maximizing revenues from a variety of media formats and platforms, both in terms of paid-for content and in new advertising models, and continues to invest in its digital and other products, which represent an increasingly larger share of revenues at its consumer business. Mobile devices, their related apps and other technologies, provide continued opportunities for the Dow Jones segment to make its content available to a new audience of readers, introduce new or different pricing schemes and develop its products to continue to attract advertisers and/or affect the relationship between content providers and consumers. The Dow Jones segment continues to develop and implement strategies to exploit its content across a variety of media channels and platforms, including leveraging its content through licensing arrangements with third-party distribution platforms and growing its live journalism events business, which has been affected in recent periods by uncertainty, cancellations and postponements caused by the novel coronavirus (”COVID-19”) pandemic and new revenue models for virtual events.

Operating expenses for the consumer business include costs related to paper, production, distribution, third party printing, editorial and commissions. Selling, general and administrative expenses include promotional expenses, salaries, employee benefits, rent and other routine overheads. The costs associated with printing and distributing newspapers, including paper prices and delivery costs, are key operating expenses whose fluctuations can have a material effect on the results of the Dow Jones segment’s consumer business. The consumer business is affected by the cyclical increases and decreases in the price of paper and other factors that may affect paper prices, including tariffs or other restrictions on non-U.S. paper suppliers. In addition, the Dow Jones segment relies on third parties for much of the printing and distribution of its print products. Long-term structural movements from print to digital and the more immediate, as well as longer term, economic impacts of COVID-19 present challenges to the financial and operational stability of these third parties which could, in turn, increase the cost of printing and distributing the Company's newspapers.

The Dow Jones segment’s consumer products compete for consumers, audience and advertising with other local and national newspapers, web and app-based media, magazines, investment tools, social media sources and podcasts, as well as other media such as television, radio stations and outdoor displays. As a result of rapidly changing and evolving technologies, distribution platforms and business models, and corresponding changes in consumer behavior, the consumer business continues to face increasing competition for both circulation and advertising revenue, including from a variety of alternative news and information sources. These include both paid and free websites, digital apps, news aggregators, blogs, podcasts, search engines, social media networks, programmatic advertising buying channels, as well as other emerging media and distribution platforms, including off-platform distribution of its products.

The Dow Jones segment’s professional information business, which targets enterprise customers, derives revenue primarily from subscriptions to its professional information products. The professional information business serves enterprise customers with products that combine news and information with technology and tools that inform decisions and aid awareness, research and understanding. The success of the professional information business depends on its ability to provide products, services, applications and functionalities that meet the needs of its enterprise customers, who operate in information-intensive and oftentimes highly regulated industries such as finance and insurance. The professional information business must also anticipate and respond to industry trends and regulatory and technological changes.

Significant expenses for the professional information business include development costs, sales and marketing expenses, hosting and support services, royalties, salaries, consulting and professional fees, sales commissions, employee benefits and other routine overhead expenses.

The Dow Jones segment’s professional information products compete with various information service providers, compliance data providers and global financial newswires, including Reuters News, LexisNexis and Refinitiv, as well as many other providers of news, information and compliance data.

Book Publishing

The Book Publishing segment derives revenues from the sale of general fiction, nonfiction, children’s and religious books in the U.S. and internationally. The revenues and operating results of the Book Publishing segment are significantly affected by the timing of releases and the number of its books in the marketplace. The book publishing marketplace is subject to increased periods of demand during the end-of-year holiday season in its main operating geographies. This marketplace is highly competitive and continues to change due to technological developments, including additional digital platforms, such as e-books and downloadable audiobooks, and distribution channels and other factors. Each book is a separate and distinct product and its financial success depends upon many factors, including public acceptance.

36

Major new title releases represent a significant portion of the Book Publishing segment’s sales throughout the fiscal year. Print-based consumer books are generally sold on a fully returnable basis, resulting in the return of unsold books. In the domestic and international markets, the Book Publishing segment is subject to global trends and local economic conditions. Operating expenses for the Book Publishing segment include costs related to paper, printing, authors’ royalties, editorial, promotional, art and design expenses. Selling, general and administrative expenses include salaries, employee benefits, rent and other routine overhead.

News Media

Revenue at the News Media segment is derived primarily from the sale of advertising, circulation and subscriptions, as well as licensing. Adverse changes in general market conditions for advertising, including as a result of COVID-19, continue to affect revenues. Advertising revenues at the News Media segment are also subject to seasonality, with revenues typically being highest in the Company’s second fiscal quarter due to the end-of-year holiday season in its main operating geographies. Circulation and subscription revenues can be greatly affected by changes in the prices of the Company’s and/or competitors’ products, as well as by promotional activities and news cycles.

Operating expenses include costs related to paper, production, distribution, third party printing, editorial, commissions, technology and radio sports rights. Selling, general and administrative expenses include promotional expenses, salaries, employee benefits, rent and other routine overhead.

The cost of paper is a key operating expense whose fluctuations can have a material effect on the results of the segment. The News Media segment continues to be exposed to risks associated with paper used for printing. Paper is a basic commodity and its price is sensitive to the balance of supply and demand. The News Media segment’s expenses are affected by the cyclical increases and decreases in the price of paper and other factors that may affect paper prices, including tariffs. The News Media segment’s products compete for readership, audience and advertising with local and national competitors and also compete with other media alternatives in their respective markets. Competition for circulation and subscriptions is based on the content of the products provided, pricing and, from time to time, various promotions. The success of these products also depends upon advertisers’ judgments as to the most effective use of their advertising budgets. Competition for advertising is based upon the reach of the products, advertising rates and advertiser results. Such judgments are based on factors such as cost, availability of alternative media, distribution and quality of consumer demographics.

The News Media segment's traditional print business faces challenges from alternative media formats and shifting consumer preferences. The News Media segment is also exposed to the impact of long-term structural movements in advertising spending, in particular, the move from print to digital. These alternative media formats could impact the segment’s overall performance, positively or negatively. In addition, technologies and policies have been and will continue to be developed and implemented that may make it more difficult to target and measure the effectiveness of digital advertising or allow users to block advertising on websites and mobile devices, which may impact digital advertising rates or revenues.

As multi-platform news providers, the businesses within the News Media segment recognize the importance of maximizing revenues from a variety of media formats and platforms, both in terms of paid-for content and in new advertising models, and continue to invest in their digital products. Mobile devices, their related apps and other technologies, provide continued opportunities for the businesses within the News Media segment to make their content available to a new audience of readers, introduce new or different pricing schemes and develop their products to continue to attract advertisers and/or affect the relationship between content providers and consumers. The businesses within the News Media segment continue to develop and implement strategies to exploit their content across a variety of media channels and platforms.

Other

The Other segment primarily consists of general corporate overhead expenses, costs related to the U.K. Newspaper Matters and transformation costs associated with the Company’s ongoing cost reduction initiatives.

Other Business Developments

Fiscal 2021

REA Group sale of Malaysia and Thailand businesses

In August 2021, REA Group acquired an 18% interest (16.6% on a diluted basis) in PropertyGuru Pte. Ltd. (“PropertyGuru”), a leading digital property technology company operating marketplaces in Southeast Asia, in exchange for all shares of REA

37

Group’s entities in Malaysia and Thailand. The transaction was completed after REA Group entered into an agreement to sell its 27% interest in its existing venture with 99.co. The transaction will create a leading digital real estate services company in Southeast Asia and create new opportunities for collaboration and access to a deeper pool of expertise, technology and investment in the region. REA Group received one seat on the board of directors of PropertyGuru as part of the transaction.

Agreement to acquire OPIS

In July 2021, the Company entered into an agreement to acquire the Oil Price Information Service business and related assets (“OPIS”) from S&P Global Inc. (“S&P”) and IHS Markit Ltd. (“IHS”) for $1.15 billion in cash, subject to customary purchase price adjustments. OPIS is a global industry standard for benchmark and reference pricing and news and analytics for the oil, natural gas liquids and biofuels industries. The business also provides pricing and news and analytics for the coal, mining and metals end markets and insights and analytics in renewables and carbon pricing. The acquisition will enable Dow Jones to become a leading provider of energy and renewables information and further its goal of building the leading global business news and information platform for professionals. OPIS will be operated by Dow Jones, and its results will be included in the Dow Jones segment. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals and the consummation of the S&P and IHS merger, and is expected to close in the second quarter of fiscal 2022.

Acquisition of Mortgage Choice

In June 2021, REA Group acquired Mortgage Choice Limited (“Mortgage Choice”) for approximately A$244 million in cash (approximately $183 million based on exchange rates as of the closing date), funded by an increase in REA Group’s debt facilities. Control was transferred and the acquisition became effective and binding on Mortgage Choice shareholders on June 18, 2021 upon court approval. Mortgage Choice is a leading Australian mortgage broking business, and the acquisition complements REA Group’s existing Smartline broker footprint and accelerates REA Group’s financial services strategy to establish a leading mortgage broking business with national scale. Mortgage Choice is a subsidiary of REA Group and its results are included in the Digital Real Estate Services segment.

Acquisition of HMH Books & Media

In May 2021, the Company acquired the Books & Media segment of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (“HMH Books & Media”) for $349 million in cash. HMH Books & Media publishes renowned and awarded children’s, young adult, fiction, non-fiction, culinary and reference titles. The acquisition adds an extensive and successful backlist, a strong frontlist in the lifestyle and children’s segments and a productions business that provides opportunities to expand HarperCollins’s intellectual property across different formats. HMH Books & Media is a subsidiary of HarperCollins and its results are included in the Book Publishing segment.

Acquisition of Investor’s Business Daily

In May 2021, the Company acquired Investor’s Business Daily (“IBD”) for $275 million in cash. IBD is a digital-first financial news and research business with unique investing content, analytical products and educational resources, including the Investors.com website. The acquisition expands Dow Jones’s offerings with the addition of proprietary data and tools to help professional and retail investors identify top-performing stocks. IBD is operated by Dow Jones, and its results are included within the Dow Jones segment.

Senior Notes Offering

In April 2021, the Company issued $1 billion of senior notes due 2029 (the “2021 Senior Notes”). The 2021 Senior Notes bear interest at a fixed rate of 3.875% per annum, payable in cash semi-annually on May 15 and November 15 of each year, commencing November 15, 2021. The notes will mature on May 15, 2029. The Company is using the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes, which may include acquisitions and working capital.

Google partnership

In February 2021, the Company entered into a multi-year partnership with Google to provide content from its news sites around the world. The three-year agreement also includes the development of a subscription platform, the sharing of advertising revenue via Google’s advertising technology services, the cultivation of audio journalism and meaningful investments in video journalism by YouTube.

Elara

In December 2020, the Company acquired a controlling interest in Elara Technologies Pte. Ltd. (“Elara”) through a subscription for newly-issued preference shares and the buyout of certain minority shareholders. The total aggregate purchase price associated

38

with the acquisition at the completion date is $138 million which primarily consists of $69 million of cash, the fair value of noncontrolling interests of $37 million and the fair value of the Company’s previously held equity interest in Elara of $22 million. As a result of the transactions, REA Group’s shareholding in Elara increased from 13.5% to 59.7%, while News Corporation’s shareholding increased from 22.1% to 39.0%. During the three months ended March 31, 2021, REA Group acquired an additional 0.8% interest in Elara. REA Group and News Corporation now hold all Elara board seats, and the Company began consolidating Elara in December 2020. The acquisition of Elara allows REA Group to be at the forefront of long-term growth opportunities within India and the digitization of the real estate sector. Elara is a subsidiary of REA Group, and its results are included within the Digital Real Estate Services segment. As a result of the transactions, the Company’s ownership in REA Group was diluted by 0.2% to 61.4%. Subsequent to June 30, 2021, REA Group provided additional funding to Elara in exchange for further equity which increased REA Group’s ownership interest to 65.5% and diluted News Corporation’s interest to 34.3%.

Avail

In December 2020, the Company acquired Rentalutions, Inc. (“Avail”) for initial cash consideration of approximately $36 million, net of $4 million of cash acquired, and up to $8 million in future cash consideration based upon the achievement of certain performance objectives over the next three years. Avail is a platform that improves the renting experience for do-it-yourself landlords and tenants with online tools, educational content and world-class support. The acquisition helps realtor.com® further expand into the rental space, extend its support for landlords, augment current rental listing content, grow its audience and build brand affinity and long-term relationships with renters. Avail is a subsidiary of Move, and its results are included within the Digital Real Estate Services segment.

Regional and community newspapers in Australia

During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020, the Company decommissioned the print operations for its regional and community newspapers in Australia. These initiatives resulted in a revenue decrease at News Corp Australia of approximately $111 million and had an immaterial impact on Segment EBITDA during fiscal 2021.

Fiscal 2020

Sale of News America Marketing

On May 5, 2020, the Company sold its News America Marketing business, a reporting unit within its News Media segment (the “Disposition”). The aggregate purchase price for the Disposition consists of (a) up to approximately $235 million, comprised of (i) $50 million in cash at closing, subject to working capital and other adjustments, less cash reinvested to acquire a 5% equity interest in the business at closing, and (ii) additional deferred cash payments payable on or before the fifth anniversary of closing in an aggregate amount of between $125 million and approximately $185 million, depending on the timing of such payments, and (b) a warrant to purchase up to an additional 10% equity interest in the business, which the Company exercised in fiscal 2021. In the Disposition, the Company retained certain liabilities relating to News America Marketing, including those arising from its legal proceedings with Valassis Communications, Inc. and Insignia Systems, Inc. See Note 16—Commitments and Contingencies in the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements.

Sale of Unruly

In January 2020, the Company sold Unruly to Tremor International Ltd (“Tremor”) for approximately 7% of Tremor’s outstanding shares. The Company agreed not to sell the Tremor shares for a period of 18 months after closing. At closing, the Company and Tremor entered into a three year commercial arrangement which granted Tremor the exclusive right to sell outstream video advertising on all of the Company’s digital properties in exchange for a total minimum revenue guarantee for News Corp of £30 million.

See Note 4—Acquisitions, Disposals and Other Transactions in the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements for further discussion of the acquisitions and dispositions discussed above.

39

Results of Operations—Fiscal 2021 versus Fiscal 2020

The following table sets forth the Company’s operating results for fiscal 2021 as compared to fiscal 2020.

	For the fiscal years ended June 30,
	2021		2020		Change		% Change
(in millions, except %)					Better/(Worse)
Revenues:
Circulation and subscription	$	4,206	$	3,857	$	349	9	%
Advertising	1,594		2,193		(599)		(27)	%
Consumer	1,908		1,593		315		20	%
Real estate	1,153		862		291		34	%
Other	497		503		(6)		(1)	%
Total Revenues	9,358		9,008		350		4	%
Operating expenses	(4,831)		(5,000)		169		3	%
Selling, general and administrative	(3,254)		(2,995)		(259)		(9)	%
Depreciation and amortization	(680)		(644)		(36)		(6)	%
Impairment and restructuring charges	(168)		(1,830)		1,662		91	%
Equity losses of affiliates	(65)		(47)		(18)		(38)	%
Interest expense, net	(53)		(25)		(28)		**
Other, net	143		9		134		**
Income (loss) before income tax expense	450		(1,524)		1,974		**
Income tax expense	(61)		(21)		(40)		**
Net income (loss)	389		(1,545)		1,934		**
Less: Net (income) loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	(59)		276		(335)		**
Net income (loss) attributable to News Corporation stockholders	$	330	$	(1,269)	$	1,599	**

________________________

**    not meaningful

Revenues—Revenues increased $350 million, or 4%, for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2021 as compared to fiscal 2020, primarily driven by the $328 million increase at the Digital Real Estate Services segment primarily due to higher real estate revenues, the $319 million increase at the Book Publishing segment primarily due to higher book sales across categories, the $188 million increase at the Subscription Video Services segment which was due to the positive impact of foreign currency fluctuations and the $112 million increase at the Dow Jones segment primarily driven by higher circulation and subscription revenues. The increases were partially offset by the $596 million decline at the News Media segment, primarily driven by the $649 million impact from the sale of News America Marketing in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020.

The impact of foreign currency fluctuations of the U.S. dollar against local currencies resulted in a revenue increase of $513 million, or 6%, for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2021 as compared to fiscal 2020. The Company calculates the impact of foreign currency fluctuations for businesses reporting in currencies other than the U.S. dollar by multiplying the results for each quarter in the current period by the difference between the average exchange rate for that quarter and the average exchange rate in effect during the corresponding quarter of the prior year and totaling the impact for all quarters in the current period.

Operating expenses—Operating expenses decreased $169 million, or 3%, for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2021 as compared to fiscal 2020. The decrease was largely due to lower operating expenses at the News Media segment of $476 million, primarily due to the sale of News America Marketing, cost savings initiatives and lower newsprint, production and distribution costs, partially offset by the $87 million negative impact of foreign currency fluctuations and the absence of the $22 million one-time benefit from the settlement of certain warranty-related claims in the U.K. in fiscal 2020. The decrease at the News Media segment was partially offset by increases of $167 million at the Book Publishing segment driven by increased revenue and $114 million at the Subscription Video Services segment, primarily due to the $139 million negative impact of foreign currency fluctuations. The impact of foreign currency fluctuations of the U.S. dollar against local currencies resulted in an Operating expense increase of $250 million, or 5%, for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2021 as compared to fiscal 2020.

Selling, general and administrative—Selling, general and administrative increased $259 million, or 9%, for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2021 as compared to fiscal 2020. The increase in Selling, general and administrative for the fiscal year ended June 30,

40

2021 was primarily due to increased expenses of $149 million at the Digital Real Estate Services segment, driven by the $40 million negative impact of foreign currency fluctuations and higher employee and marketing costs, as well as a $128 million increase at the Other segment driven primarily by higher employee costs largely related to stock price and Company performance, which were negatively impacted by COVID-19 in the prior year, one-time legal settlement costs and investment spending as the Company ramps up its global cost reduction initiatives. The increase was partially offset by lower expenses of $119 million at the News Media segment driven by the sale of News America Marketing and ongoing cost savings initiatives, partially offset by the $74 million negative impact of foreign currency fluctuations. The impact of foreign currency fluctuations of the U.S. dollar against local currencies resulted in a Selling, general and administrative increase of $177 million, or 6%, for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2021 as compared to fiscal 2020.

Depreciation and amortization—Depreciation and amortization expense increased $36 million, or 6%, for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2021 as compared to fiscal 2020. The impact of foreign currency fluctuations of the U.S. dollar against local currencies resulted in a depreciation and amortization expense increase of $46 million, or 8%, for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2021 as compared to fiscal 2020.

Impairment and restructuring charges—During the fiscal years ended June 30, 2021 and 2020, the Company recorded restructuring charges of $168 million and $140 million, respectively, of which $122 million and $84 million, respectively, related to the News Media segment. The increase in restructuring charges was primarily as a result of exit costs associated with the anticipated closure of the Company’s Bronx print plant, the termination of a third-party printing contract and the Company’s global cost reduction initiatives.

During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020, the Company recognized non-cash impairment charges of $1,690 million, primarily due to a $931 million write-down of goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets at its Foxtel reporting unit in the third quarter of fiscal 2020, $410 million of write-downs related to News America Marketing, including $175 million related to its reclassification to assets held for sale in the third quarter of fiscal 2020, and $292 million in impairments of property, plant and equipment, goodwill and intangible assets identified during the Company's annual impairment assessment.

See Note 5—Restructuring Programs, Note 7—Property, Plant and Equipment and Note 8—Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets in the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements.

Equity losses of affiliates—Equity losses of affiliates increased by $18 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2021 as compared to fiscal 2020, primarily due to the $54 million non-cash write-down of the Foxtel Group’s investment in the Nickelodeon Australia Joint Venture. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021, Foxtel and ViacomCBS entered into a separate programming rights agreement which will result in the windup of the Nickelodeon Australia Joint Venture in the first half of fiscal 2022. See Note 6—Investments in the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements.

Interest expense, net—Interest expense, net for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2021 increased $28 million as compared to fiscal 2020, primarily due to the absence of the impact from the settlement of cash flow hedges related to debt maturities in the first quarter of fiscal 2020 and the issuance of the 2021 Senior Notes in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021. See Note 9—Borrowings in the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements.

Other, net—Other, net increased $134 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2021 as compared to fiscal 2020. See Note 21—Additional Financial Information in the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements.

Income tax expense—The Company’s income tax expense and effective tax rate for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2021 were $61 million and 14%, respectively, as compared to an income tax expense and effective tax rate of $21 million and (1)%, respectively, for fiscal 2020.

For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2021 the Company recorded income tax expense of $61 million on pre-tax income of $450 million resulting in an effective tax rate that was lower than the U.S. statutory tax rate. The tax rate was impacted by valuation allowances being recorded against tax benefits in certain foreign jurisdictions with operating losses and by the impact of foreign operations which are subject to higher tax rates, offset by a release of valuation allowances on deferred tax assets that are more-likely-than-not to be realized and a remeasurement of deferred taxes in the U.K.

For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020, the Company recorded income tax expense of $21 million on a pre-tax loss of $1,524 million resulting in an effective tax rate that was lower than the U.S. statutory tax rate. The tax rate was impacted by the non-cash impairments, which have low or no tax benefit, valuation allowances being recorded against tax benefits in certain foreign jurisdictions with operating losses and by the impact of foreign operations which are subject to higher tax rates.

41

Management assesses available evidence to determine whether sufficient future taxable income will be generated to permit the use of existing deferred tax assets. Based on management’s assessment of available evidence, it has been determined that it is more likely than not that certain deferred tax assets in U.S. Federal, State and foreign jurisdictions may not be realized and therefore, a valuation allowance has been established against those tax assets.

Net income (loss)—Net income was $389 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2021, as compared to a net loss of $1,545 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020, an improvement of $1,934 million, primarily driven by the absence of non-cash impairment charges recognized in fiscal 2020, higher Total Segment EBITDA and higher Other, net, partially offset by higher tax expense.

Net (income) loss attributable to noncontrolling interests—Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests was $59 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2021, as compared to a net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests of $276 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020, primarily due to the absence of the non-cash impairment charges recognized in fiscal 2020 at the Company’s Foxtel reporting unit.

Segment Analysis

Segment EBITDA is defined as revenues less operating expenses and selling, general and administrative expenses. Segment EBITDA does not include: depreciation and amortization, impairment and restructuring charges, equity losses of affiliates, interest (expense) income, net, other, net and income tax (expense) benefit. Segment EBITDA may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies, since companies and investors may differ as to what items should be included in the calculation of Segment EBITDA.

Segment EBITDA is the primary measure used by the Company’s chief operating decision maker to evaluate the performance of, and allocate resources within, the Company’s businesses. Segment EBITDA provides management, investors and equity analysts with a measure to analyze the operating performance of each of the Company’s business segments and its enterprise value against historical data and competitors’ data, although historical results may not be indicative of future results (as operating performance is highly contingent on many factors, including customer tastes and preferences).

Total Segment EBITDA is a non-GAAP measure and should be considered in addition to, not as a substitute for, net income (loss), cash flow and other measures of financial performance reported in accordance with GAAP. In addition, this measure does not reflect cash available to fund requirements and excludes items, such as depreciation and amortization and impairment and restructuring charges, which are significant components in assessing the Company’s financial performance. The Company believes that the presentation of Total Segment EBITDA provides useful information regarding the Company’s operations and other factors that affect the Company’s reported results. Specifically, the Company believes that by excluding certain one-time or non-cash items such as impairment and restructuring charges and depreciation and amortization, as well as potential distortions between periods caused by factors such as financing and capital structures and changes in tax positions or regimes, the Company provides users of its consolidated financial statements with insight into both its core operations as well as the factors that affect reported results between periods but which the Company believes are not representative of its core business. As a result, users of the Company’s consolidated financial statements are better able to evaluate changes in the core operating results of the Company across different periods.

The following table reconciles Net income (loss) to Total Segment EBITDA for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2021 and 2020:

	For the fiscal years ended June 30,
	2021		2020
(in millions)
Net income (loss)	$	389	$	(1,545)
Add:
Income tax expense	61		21
Other, net	(143)		(9)
Interest expense, net	53		25
Equity losses of affiliates	65		47
Impairment and restructuring charges	168		1,830
Depreciation and amortization	680		644
Total Segment EBITDA	$	1,273	$	1,013

42

The following table sets forth the Company’s Revenues and Segment EBITDA by reportable segment for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2021 and 2020:

	For the fiscal years ended June 30,
	2021				2020
(in millions)	Revenues		Segment EBITDA		Revenues		Segment EBITDA
Digital Real Estate Services	$	1,393	$	514	$	1,065	$	345
Subscription Video Services	2,072		359		1,884		323
Dow Jones	1,702		332		1,590		236
Book Publishing	1,985		303		1,666		214
News Media	2,205		52		2,801		53
Other	1		(287)		2		(158)
Total	$	9,358	$	1,273	$	9,008	$	1,013

Digital Real Estate Services (15% and 12% of the Company’s consolidated revenues in fiscal 2021 and 2020, respectively)

	For the fiscal years ended June 30,
	2021		2020		Change		% Change
(in millions, except %)					Better/(Worse)
Revenues:
Circulation and subscription	$	25	$	36	$	(11)	(31)	%
Advertising	126		98		28		29	%
Real estate	1,153		862		291		34	%
Other	89		69		20		29	%
Total Revenues	1,393		1,065		328		31	%
Operating expenses	(182)		(172)		(10)		(6)	%
Selling, general and administrative	(697)		(548)		(149)		(27)	%
Segment EBITDA	$	514	$	345	$	169	49	%

For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2021, revenues at the Digital Real Estate Services segment increased $328 million, or 31%, as compared to fiscal 2020. Revenues at Move increased $168 million, or 36%, to $641 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2021 from $473 million in fiscal 2020, primarily driven by higher real estate revenues due to the factors discussed below and the absence of an estimated $15 million of discounts offered to customers in response to COVID-19 during fiscal 2020. The referral model and the traditional lead generation product both benefited from higher lead and transaction volumes. The referral model also benefited from higher average home values and referral fees and generated approximately 29% of total Move revenues. The traditional lead generation product saw continued strong demand from agents, driving improvements in sell-through and yield. At REA Group, revenues increased $160 million, or 27%, to $752 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2021 from $592 million in fiscal 2020. The higher revenues were primarily due to the $80 million positive impact of foreign currency fluctuations, an increase in Australian residential depth revenue driven by strong national listings and the $l3 million impact from the acquisition of Elara.

For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2021, Segment EBITDA at the Digital Real Estate Services segment increased $169 million, or 49%, as compared to fiscal 2020. The increase in Segment EBITDA was primarily driven by the $100 million and $67 million higher contributions from Move and REA Group, respectively, resulting from the higher revenues discussed above and the $40 million positive impact of foreign currency fluctuations, partially offset by higher employee costs at both Move and REA Group, an $18 million increase in marketing costs at Move and the $17 million negative impact from the acquisition of Elara. Fiscal 2021 included approximately $12 million of transaction costs related to current year acquisitions.

43

Subscription Video Services (22% and 21% of the Company’s consolidated revenues in fiscal 2021 and 2020, respectively) 

	For the fiscal years ended June 30,
	2021		2020		Change		% Change
(in millions, except %)					Better/(Worse)
Revenues:
Circulation and subscription	$	1,825	$	1,673	$	152	9	%
Advertising	210		174		36		21	%
Other	37		37		—		—	%
Total Revenues	2,072		1,884		188		10	%
Operating expenses	(1,334)		(1,220)		(114)		(9)	%
Selling, general and administrative	(379)		(341)		(38)		(11)	%
Segment EBITDA	$	359