* Street view Fiscal Q3 EPS: $0.27
* Street view Fiscal Q3 revenue: $8.42 bln
By Yinka Adegoke
NEW YORK, May 4 (Reuters) - News Corp's anticipated strong quarterly profit to be released on Wednesday is likely to take a back seat to Rupert Murdoch's dealmaking appetite and a phone-hacking scandal at its UK newspapers.
Like other media companies, News Corp is expected to have enjoyed a boost in advertising revenues and cable affiliate fees during the March quarter.
Only a few big media companies have reported earnings for
the first three months of the year -- Viacom Inc
On average, analysts expect News Corp to post net income of $700.5 million, or 27 cents a share, on revenue of $8.42 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
DEALS
Beyond the numbers, analysts will be interested to know how much Murdoch is willing to raise his company's bid for the 61 percent of BSkyB it doesn't already own.
News Corp made a 700p a share offer last June and the board said it's looking for around 800p, or around $14 billion.
Wall Street thinks News Corp may have to raise its bid even higher than 800p especially as the UK satellite company has posted much improved earnings results since News Corp first made its bid. [ID:nLDE7270PA]
News Corp is also in the process of trying to rid itself of the loss-making MySpace. While the former social networking pioneer is a tiny piece of News Corp, its high profile has meant that many industry watchers are keen to know how the story will end. [ID:nN05173148]
News Corp and Italian financial holding company Exor , which controls Ferrari through car maker Fiat , are teaming up to explore options on how to run Formula One motor racing. [ID:nLDE7422A4]
In the meantime, Murdoch's News of the World tabloid reversed course this month and admitted its role in a long-running phone-hacking scandal that some thought might jeopardize News Corp's bid for BSkyB. [ID:nLDE73R13J]
The scandal was sparked when an investigation found that News of the World reporters had been hacking into celebrities' and politicians' voice mails.
News International, which reports to Murdoch's son James, has already made six-figure compensation payouts to some of the victims.
SUCCESSION
Despite the troubles, the younger Murdoch was promoted earlier this year to deputy chief operating officer of the entire company, and has moved from London to its headquarters in New York.
This and the move by News Corp to pay $673 million for TV production company Shine, owned by Murdoch's daughter Liz, has sparked speculation about News Corp's succession plan.
It has long been suggested that Murdoch would prefer to be succeeded as chief executive by one of his adult children who are close to the business. However, News Corp insiders said Murdoch senior is not going anywhere any time soon. (Editing by Bernard Orr and Muralikumar Anantharaman)