News Corp. Falls as ‘American Idol’ Hurts Profit Forecast

News Corp., Rupert Murdoch’s media company, fell the most in almost three months after cutting its profit forecast because of declining ratings for shows such as “American Idol” and “X Factor.”

Operating income will grow by a “mid- to high-single-digit” percentage for the fiscal year ending in June, the company said on a conference call late yesterday, down from an earlier forecast of growth that could exceed 10 percent. Fewer viewers leads to lower advertising sales for some of the top programs on the News Corp.-owned Fox network in the U.S.