Bart Simpson, Bill O'Reilly lend a hand to Rupert Murdoch

News Corp (NYSE: NWS) today reported better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter results thanks to a cartoon boy named Bart Simpson and a conservative talk-show host named Bill O'Reilly.

Net income dropped to $732 million, or 23 cents a share, from $843 million, or 27 cents, a year earlier. Sales rose 19 percent to $7.07 billion, beating the $6.52 billion consensus estimate of Bloomberg News. Profit matched analysts' forecasts.

Filmed Entertainment, where operating income soared 51% to $362 million because of the huge box office of The Simpsons Movie, was a big plug. Cable Networks' operating income rose 16% to $289 million, as profit at Fox News Channel more than doubled thanks to higher affiliate fees and increased advertising revenue.

Results in the other divisions were pretty lackluster. Operating income fell in the television, newspapers and magazine publishing businesses. The Direct Broadcast Satellite Television Business had operating income of $48 million compared with a loss a year earlier.

Shares of News Corp fell in after-hours trading. Maybe Wall Street was hoping for a better quarter from the Australian billionaire.