The entertainment company reported revenue of $US7.23 billion ($9.7 billion) for the three months to the end of March, up 6 per cent from a year earlier.

The sarcastic superhero film Deadpool, starring Ryan Reynolds, was released in the quarter, grossing more than $US760 million in worldwide box office takings, with a production budget of under $US60 million. It is the top-grossing R-rated film ever, 21st Century Fox said.

Executive chairman Lachlan Murdoch said the result represented the second-best quarter earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation in the studio's history.

He also flagged new X-Men and Independence Day movies will be released in the current quarter.

The company's chief financial officer, John Nallen, told shareholders that domestic advertising growth was led by higher ratings at Fox News, which saw advertising revenue across its television stations boosted by greater political spending.

Net income for the quarter was down 13 per cent compared with the third quarter last year at $US841 million.

Profit for the nine months until the end of March totalled $US2.4 billion, down from $US8.5 billion. However, the financial year-to-date has been affected by about $US5 billion in proceeds from the sale of Sky Deutschland and Sky Italia to BSkyB.

"Whether it was Fox News outranking all of basic cable for the first time, FX delivering the year's most watched new cable show with The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story , or STAR Sports remaking televised sports in India, the unique appeal of our industry leading brands and premium content has never been clearer," 21st Century Fox's executive chairmen Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch said in a statement.

"This strength extended to our film studio, which broke global box office records and expanded a global franchise with Deadpool, while delivering its second strongest quarterly earnings ever. The demonstrated value of our brands and our outstanding creative content will drive our businesses forward in both the existing and evolving media marketplace."

In an earnings call filled with questions about Hulu, which 21st Century Fox part owns with Disney and NBCUniversal, chief executive James Murdoch said the convergence between television and streaming was increasing. Hulu confirmed earlier in the day that it would launch a live TV service in addition to its catch-up programming.

"Over the long term, but approaching quickly, all video entertainment will be consumed over IP [internet protocol] networks," Mr Murdoch said.

He said in that fast approaching environment "it's not worth making the distinction between linear and digital anymore."

"We'd like to make our programming more available not less."

He said there was also an opportunity to have viewers engage more with advertising through streaming because the ads can be more targeted.