Good day. Welcome to the News Corp 4Q FY 2018 conference call. Today's call is being recorded. As a reminder, all media is invited on a listen-only basis. At this time, I'd like to turn today's conference call over to Michael Florin, Senior Vice President and Head of Investor Relations. Please go ahead, sir.
Thank you very much, Carrie. Hello, everyone. Welcome to News Corp's fiscal fourth quarter 2018 earnings call. We issued our earnings press release about an hour ago. It's now posted on our website at newscorp.com. On the call today are Robert Thomson, Chief Executive, and Susan Panuccio, Chief Financial Officer. We'll open with some prepared remarks. Then we'll be happy to take questions from the investment community. This call may include certain forward-looking information with respect to News Corp's business and strategy. Actual results could differ materially from what is said. News Corp's Form 10-K and Form 10-Q filings identify risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ and contain cautionary statements regarding forward-looking information. Additionally, this call will include certain non-GAAP financial measures such as total segment EBITDA, adjusted segment EBITDA, and adjusted EPS.
The definitions and GAAP to non-GAAP reconciliations of such measures can be found in our earnings release. With that, I will pass over to Robert Thomson for some opening comments.
Thanks, Mike. These are certainly uncertain times for some media companies, including social media companies. It is quite significant that during fiscal 2018, News Corp grew revenues and total segment EBITDA and was an influential voice of reason and reform in a sector that is evolving but remains in need of profound change. When the new News Corp was launched five years ago, we promised to be relentlessly digital and global. That we would remain faithful to the principles and the values inherited from the founding company. It was also crucial for our shareholders that we become more than the sum of our parts. While we ardently believe there is much toil ahead, we are confident that closer integration between and among our companies is helping us realize that potential. Our news mastheads and digital property sites continue to work closely to drive valuable audience and traffic.
While our high-quality journalism is crucial to the burgeoning of Storyful and to the exponential expansion of Mansion Global. These are not just contrived concepts but measurable outcomes, and our full-year numbers provide hard evidence of the company's successful evolution. This past year, as a result of the transformative combination of Foxtel and Fox Sports Australia, muscular performances at book publishing, digital real estate services, the new News Corp crossed the billion-dollar threshold in profitability. For the fourth quarter, both revenues and EBITDA were distinctly higher compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, constructive conversations are underway with Google, YouTube, and Facebook to recognize provenance, counteract piracy, and share the permission data that was generated by our journalism and our creative work.
We sense that these companies are conscious that the editorial ecosystem is changing and that IP is a priority, while piracy and pedantry are anathema to the growth of a healthy and harmonious community. We are watching closely as Amazon, a dominant horizontal platform, expands into more verticals, bringing the possibility of algorithmic abuse. We are reassured that the dominant algorithms are under increasingly close scrutiny internationally. Thankfully, the credulous have been succeeded by the sedulous. One important development reflected in the most recent quarter is the combination of Foxtel and Fox Sports Australia. We now control a combined company, and with the enhanced structure and a new leadership team in place, the combined business obviously increases the share of subscription revenues. At the time of our separation, almost half of News Corp's revenues came from advertising.
Today, our revenues from advertising for the year accounted for less than a third of the whole. In fact, this quarter, subscription and other non-advertising revenues now exceeded 70%, giving News Corp a healthy foundation for growth in an age in which subscription is increasingly important for revenues and for a deeper relationship with customers. The new Foxtel will also work much more closely with our mastheads, which we expect to become an important marketing platform for subscriber growth. I was in Australia in recent days, it is patent that there is a renewed vigor, creativity, and customer consciousness at the company.
We have traditionally suffered from a paucity of summer sports offerings, the securing of rights from Cricket Australia for six years and the launch of a dedicated cricket channel mean that we will have a year-round offering for the first time and believe that seasonal customer churn will decline. Our mastheads will certainly play a crucial role in complementing our broadcast platform in the pursuit of cricket victories. For Foxtel, we are confident that the current phase of investment in rights and technology should drive increased subscriptions and value for our investors. The new team is acutely aware of the importance of improving the user interface and customer service and the need to innovate, such as the introduction of an over-the-top streaming service later this year to give more Australians easier access to premium sports.
We indicated our plans for an IPO when we announced the combining of Foxtel and Fox Sports Australia. That continues to be our goal. In user information services, we were able to offset print advertising declines through our expanding digital revenues. We have seen notable success in subscriber growth at Dow Jones, which crossed the 3 million subscriber mark in June, with digital accounting for more than 60% of The Wall Street Journal subscribers. Also, at The Australian, and The Times, and The Sunday Times, digital subscribers are now more than half of their total subscriber base. Notably, at The Times and The Sunday Times, we surpassed 500,000 total subscribers in June. Meanwhile, according to Comscore, in May, Sun Online topped MailOnline in the U.K. in unique visitors.
It is no coincidence that such growth in readership comes alongside independent research highlighting the trustworthiness of The Times of London and The Wall Street Journal. In an era in which veracity is a particular virtue and hyperbole is no longer hip, we are proud to have the most trusted news brands around the world. These brands offer increasingly important venues for advertisers who want their reputation burnished, not tarnished. It is thus unsurprising that The Sun and The Times grew their full-year ad revenues for the first time in 7 years. Wireless Group saw another strong set of audience figures this quarter, with the listening hours at its U.K. stations up 14% versus the prior year based on the latest industry data, outpacing the overall market.
Revenues in the most recent quarter rose significantly, thanks in part to England's serendipitous success at the World Cup, but also because of the marketing prowess of our U.K. and digital platforms. At Dow Jones, fiscal year circulation revenues grew 10%, largely due to digital subscriber growth at The Wall Street Journal. Meanwhile, there was a solid 7% increase in full-year revenues at the professional information business, which is the largest year-on-year jump in their annual revenues since the creation of the New News. There was a particularly pleasing performance in risk and compliance as companies recognize the importance of Dow Jones' insight and intelligence in areas crucial to the health of the business. The Dow Jones team is also working closely with the team at Storyful, whose unique understanding of social media around the world is crucial for companies seeking to avoid reputational roadkill.
The New York Post is gathering momentum in a tough tabloid market and is the standout performer in greater New York, where its positive influence is matched by a positive audience response. The Post digital network, including pagesix.com, had 101 million unique visitors in June, up 51% on the previous year. Clearly, that growth is far superior to that of The New York Times and the struggling Daily News. The Wall Street Journal also added more digital subscribers and had significantly higher circulation revenue growth this quarter than The New York Times. In Australia, digital subscriber growth continued apace, while our team addressed the cost base to stabilize and strengthen the business. The results of that vigilance were reflected in a positive segment EBITDA contribution for the year and a platform for future growth.
Cost savings and potential partnerships with traditional rivals around the world, such as Fairfax in Australia and a plethora of publishers in the U.K., have become possible as the media landscape has changed dramatically. We will never enter into agreements that undermine the essential character, commercial purpose, and social role of our publications. As for book publishing, our team at HarperCollins, through their expert discovery of great authors and empathetic curating of manuscripts and clever marketing campaigns, ensured strong results in the fourth quarter and for the full year. That success was reflected in the popularity of its frontlist titles and in the effective leveraging of its substantial backlist. One benefit of that backlist was a $28 million in revenues coming from the sublicensing deal involving J.R.R. Tolkien's works.
As Gandalf observed, perhaps with chief executives and investors foremost in mind, "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us." HarperCollins also saw continued growth in its digital revenues, thanks to the rising popularity of downloadable audiobooks. We had substantial success in financial 2018 with the strong sales of the best-selling "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck" and from Joanna Gaines' Magnolia Table, which, according to BookScan, is the fastest-selling U.S. cookbook in history. In children's books, we had particular success with "The Hate U Give," which we'll see in the theaters later this year as a film from 20th Century Fox. We come to our fastest-growing segment, digital real estate services, which has been a particular priority since the formation of the new News Corp.
Overall, digital real estate services segment revenues rose 22%, and segment EBITDA rose 24% for the year. We have become the most global digital property company, and we certainly still have the potential for rapid growth without alienating Realtors by becoming hot-to-trot house flippers. At Move, home of realtor.com, core real estate revenues for fiscal 2018 grew 20%, with total revenues up a healthy 15% for the year. realtor.com continued to show strong audience gains and maintained its tangible lead with 1.5 times higher engagement compared to its nearest competitor. We are continuously working to improve returns for Realtors and enhance experience for customers. It is worth noting that realtor.com has nearly doubled its revenues since the acquisition by News Corp less than four years ago.
We believe that our largest investment since the split, which has been both lucrative and transforming, is undervalued by Wall Street, given realtor.com's significant revenue expansion, impressive increase in audience, and the value of its peers in the digital real estate sector. We remain committed to users of the site who are making an important investment for their families, and to Realtors whom we have no intention of usurping, unlike certain other companies. Meanwhile, in Australia, REA continued to be an industry leader in both audience and innovation, expanding into adjacencies like the mortgage brokering business, which has quickly gained traction with 350,000 self-completed financial profiles as of June 30.
At the close of this fiscal year, five years since our rebirth as a company, we are proud to have leaders and creators so strong, passionate, and purposeful, and numbers so self-evidently robust, and a future that holds much promise for growth in audience, revenue, and profit. Behind the impressive results are the people of News Corp who serve our readers, members, audiences, and advertisers. All have contributed to our success this year and over the past five years, and have laid the foundations for a particularly prosperous and fecund future for our investors. With that, I will turn the microphone over to Susan Panuccio.
Thank you, Robert. Before I review the financial results, I wanted to highlight five themes from this past year-end and the quarter where we've made significant progress. We've taken steps to stabilize the news and information services segment. This year showed tangible improvement through a combination of cost initiatives and digital investments. We are seeing strong digital paid subscriber growth across many of our key properties, where digital subscribers now exceed print. Revenues were stable for the quarter and the fiscal year, and the segment EBITDA reflected moderating declines, a material improvement from recent trends. In addition, we continue to focus on potential industry solutions, which include our recently announced printing agreement with Fairfax in Australia. We have focused on strengthening our digital real estate services platform this year, which we have done by expanding into relevant adjacencies, investing in new businesses and products, and growing our core audiences.
The segment was our biggest EBITDA contributor and annual revenues now exceed well over $1 billion, and have more than tripled since separation. The performance at our book publishing segment this year underscores the value of premium content and global scale, posting record revenue since the company separated. We completed the Foxtel and Fox Sports Australia combination, which gives operational control to News Corp, reshapes our revenue base, and provides more flexibility for News Corp moving forward. We continue to actively look at our portfolio. This year, we sold several non-core investments, including our stake in SEEK Asia and magazines in Australia, and continue to evaluate our options with respect to our regional and community newspapers in Australia. With that, I would now like to discuss our financial results. For the full year fiscal 2018, total revenues were over $9 billion, an 11% increase compared to the prior year.
This includes the consolidation of Foxtel in the fourth quarter. On an adjusted basis, which excludes the impact from acquisitions and divestments and currency fluctuations, as disclosed in the press release, revenues rose 2%. Reported total segment EBITDA for the year was nearly $1.1 billion, compared to $885 million in the prior year, a 21% increase over the prior year period. Adjusted EBITDA for the year, which excludes the Foxtel impact and other items as disclosed in the press release, rose 6%. During the full year, we had several non-reoccurring items impacting EPS. Those items included pre-tax non-cash write-downs of $1.2 billion, primarily related to Foxtel, Fox Sports Australia, and News America Marketing, which we reported in the third quarter, and a $237 million charge reflecting certain one-time adjustments as a consequence of the U.S. Tax Act.
Finally, the fourth quarter included a loss of $337 million related to the Foxtel transaction, primarily resulting from the write-off of the Fox Sports Australia channel distribution agreement as a result of the transaction, which is reflected under other net. Reported EPS from continuing operations were negative $2.60, compared to negative $1.27 in the prior year. Adjusted EPS from continuing operations were $0.44 versus $0.36 in the prior year. Now to the quarterly financial details. We reported fiscal 2018 fourth quarter total revenues of $2.7 billion, up 29% versus the prior year. On an adjusted basis, which excludes the impact of the Foxtel consolidation and the other items disclosed in our release, revenues rose 5%. Reported total segment EBITDA was $312 million, compared to $250 million in the prior year. Adjusted segment EBITDA, which excludes the Foxtel impact, rose 13%.
For the quarter, reported EPS were negative $0.64, compared to negative $0.74 a year ago. Adjusted EPS from continuing operations were $0.08 versus $0.11 in the prior year. Turning now to the individual operating segments. In News and Information Services, revenues for the quarter were $1.3 billion and rose 1% versus the prior year. Within segment revenues, advertising revenues were down 2% and circulation and subscription revenues increased 5%, with foreign currency benefiting advertising by 1% and circulation and subscription revenues by 2%. Within the segment, reported revenues at Dow Jones rose 3%, News UK rose 4%, News Australia declined 3%, and News America Marketing fell 2%. News and Information Services segment EBITDA this quarter was $94 million, down 9% versus the prior year, which is a notable improvement on the declines we experienced in the third quarter.
There are a few highlights which I would like to mention from the segment. We again saw strong digital subscriber growth across our news businesses. At Dow Jones, circulation revenues grew 9%, and at The Wall Street Journal, they grew 10%, benefiting from strong growth in The Wall Street Journal digital-only subscribers, which were up 25% year-over-year and up 7% versus our fiscal third quarter. In addition, we again saw healthy year-over-year digital subscription growth at The Times and The Sunday Times, up 27%, and also at News Australia, up 14%. The Professional Information Business, or PIB, at Dow Jones posted 6% revenue growth, led again by risk and compliance, which grew 35% in the quarter versus the prior year, and as expected, exceeded $100 million in total sales this year. We remain very encouraged by the pipeline and trajectory of growth.
Just to frame the size, our PIB products in fiscal 2018 generated 27% of Dow Jones revenues. Fourth quarter advertising trends across our news portfolio improved modestly from the fiscal third quarter rate. The U.K. was again a solid performer, with advertising up 6% versus the prior year, or flat in local currency, led by digital advertising growth and higher year-on-year performances at both The Sun and The Times. News Australia advertising declined 6% versus the prior year in reported and local currency, showing further moderation of print advertising declines. Dow Jones advertising was down 10%, also reflecting an improvement in print declines at The Wall Street Journal. The closure of The Wall Street Journal International print editions in Q2 impacted Dow Jones advertising revenues by $5 million, accounting for nearly half of the advertising decline this quarter. We remain very focused on cost initiatives, particularly at News Australia.
While much work is still to be done, pleasingly, News Corp Australia showed some stability and profitability helped by ongoing cost initiatives, which have exceeded our initial expectations, and also higher digital revenues. As we mentioned last quarter, we've been working with industry participants about potentially shaping or sharing printing and distribution facilities to drive further operating efficiencies across our key markets. News Corp Australia entered into a commercial printing arrangement with Fairfax Media to provide printing services in New South Wales and Queensland. We expect to realize approximately AUD 10 million of cost savings on an annualized basis from this agreement and continue to explore other opportunities to increase efficiencies. Finally, at News America Marketing, revenues were relatively stable as weakness in insert products were mostly offset by mid-single-digit growth in in-store advertising products. Profit contribution improved due to effective cost management. Turning to our Book Publishing segment.
We posted a very solid quarter driven by strong frontlist and backlist performances, combined with the contribution from the previously announced sub-licensing agreement of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy with Amazon. Revenues for the quarter increased approximately 20% to $490 million, and segment EBITDA increased 82% to $71 million. The Tolkien agreement, which highlights the value of intellectual property, impacted revenues by $28 million or 7%. This quarter also benefited from several successful new releases, including "Magnolia Table" by Joanna Gaines, "I'll Be Gone in the Dark" by Michelle McNamara, and "Girl, Wash Your Face" by Rachel Hollis, as well as the continued strength of backlist titles such as "The Subtle Art" by Mark Manson. Overall, the backlist contributed approximately 49% of consumer revenues in the quarter, down 54% last year.
While revenues this quarter were driven by the success of the frontlist, backlist revenues still grew at a healthy rate on an absolute basis. Total digital revenues for the quarter grew 12%, the highest growth in recent periods due to the strength of the downloadable audiobook, and represented 20% of consumer revenues in line with the prior year. In the Digital Real Estate Services segment, revenues increased 19% to $299 million. Reported segment EBITDA was up 14% to $99 million. REA Group revenues grew 27% due to very strong residential depth revenue growth in Australia, including higher penetration for Premiere All and increased yield, the integration of the Smartline acquisition, and benefit from currency. Revenue growth was partially offset by lower listing volume. As always, please refer to REA's earnings release and their conference call, which will commence shortly after this call for additional details.
Move revenues rose 11% to $120 million versus the prior year, driven by continued success of its Connections for Buyers product. Connections for Buyers benefited from higher customer flow and yield as well as increased lead volume, albeit at a slower pace than the prior year. Core real estate revenues, which includes listing and lead-based products, grew 17%. As I mentioned last quarter, we've been reducing our non-listing advertising loads as part of a site redesign, initially within select markets to improve engagement and lead volume with encouraging early signs. Average monthly unique users at realtor.com were approximately 63 million for the quarter, rising 9% versus the prior year. As expected, Move's expenses were higher this quarter due to planned brand marketing and traffic acquisition costs to drive revenue growth and partly to increase our traction in New York City.
We are also rebranding our core suite of professional services and tools ahead of a commercial launch in the coming months. Turning to Subscription Video Services, which includes the newly combined Foxtel and Fox Sports Australia businesses and Sky News. You will see that we have attached to the press release the pro forma statements for the past three years. Revenues were $610 million versus $140 million a year ago. On a pro forma basis reflecting the Foxtel transaction, last year's revenues were $643 million. Segment EBITDA in the quarter was $97 million versus $24 million in the prior year. As I alluded to last quarter, reported results for the segment include one-time transaction cost of $12 million.
On a pro forma basis, segment EBITDA declined to $109 million from $178 million in the prior year, primarily due to the revenue impact I just noted, higher programming costs, which reflect increased NRL and FFA rights costs, as well as $10 million of transition costs. On operating metrics, Foxtel's total closing subscribers were over 2.8 million as of June 30th, up nearly 2% versus the prior year and prior quarter, driven by Foxtel Now subscriptions, offset by lower cable and satellite subscribers and the termination of the wind down of the T-Box and Optus subscribers. In the fourth quarter, cable and satellite residential churn was 12.5%, down from 13.3%, and ARPU was down 3% to AUD 80 per month. In the segment, subscription revenues totaled $523 million for the quarter, accounting for over 85% of segment revenues.
Subscription revenues were down 4% year-on-year on a pro forma basis, resulting from the subscriber mix. Advertising revenues totaled $67 million for the quarter, accounting for over 10% of segment revenues. Advertising was down 12% year-on-year on a pro forma basis, primarily due to lower advertising at the Foxtel network channels. As I mentioned last quarter, there will be some short-term reinvestment required at Foxtel to drive volume and improve the subscriber trajectory. I will briefly describe what these are. Firstly, beginning in the second quarter of fiscal 2019, we will start to incur the costs associated with the recently acquired Cricket Australia rights. We also face a full year of NRL costs related to the step-up from the new rights contract, which will likely be in the region of AUD 20 million or $15 million.
Secondly, we anticipate the launch of an IP-only sports offering in the second quarter and are also actively considering other non-sports IP-only products targeted at specific demographics. Thirdly, the incremental depreciation and amortization as a consequence of the consolidation was approximately $75 million in the quarter. Finally, our full-year results include approximately $60 million of CapEx related to the consolidation of Foxtel in the fourth quarter. For fiscal 2018, Foxtel CapEx was approximately $285 million. At this point, we expect Foxtel's fiscal 2019 CapEx to increase by at least $50 million to reflect expenditures related to higher penetration of next-generation set-top boxes, including 4K upgrade and some additional project spend relating to improving its IP platform. It is important to note that a significant amount of Foxtel's CapEx is subscriber-related, which includes set-top boxes and capitalized installation costs and will be driven by sales volume.
As Robert mentioned, our goal continues to be driving towards an IPO and believe that improving subscription volumes will be key to our long-term value creation. Over-the-top will be a key growth initiative, and our goal will be to maintain the broadcast subscriber base and manage churn effectively. I would like to mention a few other themes as we enter into fiscal 2019. At News & Information Services, while print advertising trends continue downwards, they have been relatively stable, but visibility remains limited. As a consequence, we are very focused on driving higher penetration of digital paid subscriptions, rolling out new digital advertising solutions, and delivering ongoing cost initiatives, particularly in Australia and at News UK. The segment achieved some stability this year, and we remain focused on continued improvements.
At Subscription Video Services, we expect reinvestment this year, as I mentioned, focusing on launching new OTT products, 4K, the next generation of the iQ box, and managing our valuable broadcast base. In Book Publishing, overall, we are very pleased with the performance of HarperCollins. Underlying trends seem relatively stable, and we remain focused on expanding our foreign language penetration. We will cycle some challenging comparisons in the coming year, but we are excited about our new releases, including the recent release of Danielle Steel's "The Other Woman" and the November release of "Homebody" by Joanna Gaines. At Digital Real Estate Services, we expect continued revenue growth at both REA and Move and for the segment to continue to play an important role in our revenue and EBITDA mix. With that, let me hand it over to the operator for Q&A.
Thank you. At this time, we'll open the floor for questions. If you would like to ask a question, please press the star key followed by the one key on your touch-tone phone now. Questions will be taken in which the order they are received. If at any time you'd like to remove yourself from the questioning queue, please press star two. Again, that is star one to ask a question. Our first question will come from Kane Hannan with Goldman Sachs.
Good morning, Robert and Susan. Just on the Foxtel IPO that you mentioned, could you just comment on what you see as, I suppose, the key hurdle this business would need to achieve on before you'd be willing to go ahead with such a transaction? Is that just the subscriber growth that you were mentioning at the end then?
Kane, it's Robert here. I've just returned from Australia, and it's fair to say that with Patrick Delany, you have a new team, a new mood, a new momentum. That will be crucial for the success in subscriptions that are, generally speaking, not just for an IPO, but for the health of the business generally, we'll all be using as a benchmark. There is absolutely no doubt that Foxtel has the best portfolio of programs and sports rights, and the latter being enhanced by the cricket rights. There's no doubt as well that the Australian audience prepared to pay for programming is far greater than previously presumed. It's fair to say both the circumstances on the ground and the context of the Australian market give us confidence in the future of Foxtel.
I think, Kane, I'd probably just add that we obviously have done a lot of investment in the business as it stands anyway, and we've got the cricket rights as well, and other sports contracts that we now have locked up for a significant period of time. It is important that we monetize those and start to push the subscriber growth, and that will be by a combination of broadcast and these new OTT propositions that we launch. We are focused on both of those, and we're focused also on cost reductions out there as well. There's a major transformation going on across that business. As Robert alluded to, the management team down there have hit the ground running and doing a great job so far.
Thanks, Kane. Carrie, we'll take our next question, please.
Thank you. Our next question will be from Eric Pan with JPMorgan.
Good afternoon, guys. Thanks for taking my question. With the change in the media consolidation rules in Australia, which sort of allow your competitor, Fairfax, to come together with Nine, would you say you're a seller or acquirer of assets in that market?
I would say we're a focused operator. As Susan just mentioned, Foxtel and Fox Sports, and that combination, we want to make more than the sum of the parts. The consolidation has given us control of the company in tandem with our partner, Telstra, and that will be our absolute focus.
Thank you. Carrie, we'll take our next question, please.
Thank you. Our next question will be from Brian Han with Morningstar.
Oh, just a very quick question. The revenue increase from sub-licensing The Lord of the Rings, is that revenue almost 100% margin? Should we be baking those earnings in for the foreseeable future?
No, that's not 100% margin. I think the $28 million was the revenue increase, and we netted about $21 million.
Great.
What you should be baking into the future is that we have an excellent team at HarperCollins led by Brian Murray, and that team has become very deft at monetizing one of the most healthy backlists available.
Thank you. Carrie, we'll take our next question, please.
Next question comes from Raymond Tong with Evans & Partners.
Morning, Robert and Susan. Just a couple of questions. Firstly, just on the Move revenue growth has moderated a bit in the quarter. Just wondering, can you talk to some of the key areas of investment and how you are thinking in terms of revenue growth going forward? Just on the subscription video services, clearly there's a bit of investment coming up that you've outlined. Just wondering how you're thinking about the EBITDA trajectory into the medium term for that business.
Raymond, look, we're very optimistic about the potential for continued growth of core revenues at Realtor. As Susan mentioned, what you define as core rose 17% year-on-year. Actually, the main product within that Connections for Buyers was up 23%. That's still a healthy growth rate. We're not complacent. On a macro level, there has been a slight slowing down in existing home sales in the U.S., but that's not a given trend given the health of the U.S. economy. You would expect over coming quarters, though I'm not a soothsayer, that if the housing market picks up, you'll see a pickup also in core Realtor revenues.
Raymond, I think just in relation to your second question on Foxtel and our expectations around EBITDA for the coming year, we obviously don't give out guidance in relation to that. I think it would be fair to say we've talked about some reinvestment activities that we're planning to do there, we obviously have got the cricket rights that have come in with the costs associated with that. We clearly are going to be launching some new products and platforms that will come out into the marketplace, which will start to grow subscribers and push that through. We're expecting going forward that there will be a balance of obviously investment with growth coming through, then we would be expecting in latter years to pick up.
Thank you, Raymond. Carrie, we'll take our next question, please.
Thank you. Our next question will be from Craig Huber from Huber Research Partners.
Yes, hi. I got two quick questions, please. What was the circulation revenue % change with or without currency by region? Then also wanted to ask about the cost for News and Information. Looked like it was up about 2% year-over-year. Assume it was closer to flat if you adjust for currency, but is there much room here in your guys' minds or plan here to take out another large chunk of cost here going forward in that segment? Thank you.
Maybe Craig, I might handle those if I will. In relation to Dow Jones, circulation revenues were up 9%, in direct and local currency as well. News UK circulation revenues were down 1%, and in News Australia, circulation revenues were flat. That's in relation to that question. The second question, you're right. If you adjust for M&A and other matters, the costs were flat across News & Information Services. I think it's fair to say we've probably got businesses at different growth rates and different parts of their cycle. Dow Jones, we probably see as more of an investment going forward. They have got revenue growth, obviously they've had revenue growth this year. We're expecting to continue to invest in marketing and acquisition costs as they continue to push those digital subscribers.
I think it would be fair to say that News Corp Australia, we're balancing cost reinvestments with cost out. We do believe that there's more work that can be done down there, and the team are very focused on that. At News UK, there is indeed still opportunities around cost out there. We'd expect those probably to be lesser than the ones that we would see in Australia as they continue to reinvest in their digital products over there. I think it's a mixed bag across the group, but we certainly see more opportunities in front of us.
Thanks, Craig. Just to supplement Susan Panuccio, Craig, as she mentioned, Dow Jones Subscription revenue was up 9%. It was actually 10% at The Wall Street Journal. What you have there is a tremendous base for the potential upselling of premium specialist content at premium prices. Our subscription base, while growing faster than the nearest competitor, is also a base with a different composition and one with real price elasticity.
Thanks, Craig. Carrie, we'll take our next question, please.
Thank you. Once again, that is star one to ask a question now. Our next question will be from Andrew Levy with Macquarie Securities.
Hi, guys. Thanks. Just one from me on the Foxtel IPO. I was wondering if you could just talk to the motivations for wanting to IPO Foxtel down the track, and what News Corp would be looking to do with its holding in terms of would it reduce it through that process, or would you be looking at your partner exiting through that process? Thanks.
Look, we can't go into details about the future per se. All I would articulate is our absolute confidence in our ability to grow revenues, to grow the subscriber base, and to grow profitability at the combined company over coming years. That means extra value for the company, but in particular, it will mean extra value for our investors.
Thanks, Andrew. Carrie, we'll take our next question.
At this time, I'm showing no further questions in the queue. I'd like to turn it back over to Mike Florin.
Great. Well, thank you, Carrie, and thank you all for participating today. Have a great day, and we'll talk to you soon. Take care.