Local pay television platform Foxtel is up for sale, News Corp global chief executive Robert Thomson has revealed after the company delivered its full-year earnings results.

News Corp posted fourth-quarter revenues were up 6 per cent on the previous year to $US2.58 billion ($3.9 billion), which it said was driven by higher Australian residential revenues in ASX-listed REA group, book sales and continued growth in the Dow Jones segment.

The company then announced it had been conducting a “strategic review” of its assets over the last year.

“We are confident in the company’s long-term prospects and are continuing to review our portfolio with a focus on maximising returns for shareholders,” Mr Thomson said.

“That review has coincided recently with third-party interest in a potential transaction involving the Foxtel Group, which has been positively transformed in recent years.

“We are evaluating options for the business with our advisors in light of that external interest.”

Mr Thomson reportedly told analysts that News Corp had a “significant overture that we are naturally assessing”, but did not provide more details.

News Corp owns 65 per cent of Foxtel, with the remainder owned by Telstra.

In a statement, a Telstra spokesperson said the company has noted News Corp “are assessing strategic and financial options for the Foxtel Group”.

“Consistent with the statements made by News Corp, there is no assurance regarding the timing of any action or transaction, nor that the strategic review will result in a transaction or other strategic change,” the statement said.

A Foxtel spokesperson said in a statement it would not be commenting on Mr Thomson’s remarks.

“This is a matter for our shareholders,” they said.

“We are focused on running the business, carrying the momentum of a successful financial year and delivering our strategy.”

Foxtel owns Kayo, Binge and Hubbl

Foxtel is an Australian pay television company and operates both in cable television, direct broadcast satellite television, and on streaming services.

It owns sports streaming service Kayo, streaming platform Binge, and the recently launched streaming aggregate Hubbl.

As a cable service, it once reached nearly one in every three households across Australia, but has had to pivot over the last decade as interest in streaming services exploded and increased competition.

However, a report last year found Australian households are now cutting back on subscription services and turning to free or cheaper ad-based content for entertainment.

The Deloitte Media and Entertainment Consumer Insights annual report showed that on average, monthly spending on digital entertainment services such as Netflix or Binge had fallen from $62 to $57 a household across all generations.

In June, Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation embarked upon its biggest restructuring in a decade in a bid to streamline management and operations and reduce costs.

The $65 million cost-cutting strategy resulted in the removal of a raft of senior News executives and a split into three publishing divisions.

That came four years after News Corp announced a massive shake-up of its publishing businesses, moving almost all its community and regional newspaper titles to a digital-only format.