News Broadcasting
News Corp net down 8 per cent in Q3
MUMBAI: Rupert Murdoch owned News Corp’s net income in the fiscal third quarter ended 31 March 2005 has fallen 8 per cent due to higher programming costs at its Fox broadcast network and loss from restructuring a sports partnership with Cablevision Systems Corp.
Net income fell to $400 million, from $434 million a year ago. Revenue jumped 17 per cent to $6 billion, pumped up by cable advertising at FX and Fox News channel. Operating income also rose 9 per cent to $889 million.
Murdoch could well be pleased with Star’s third quarter operating income which increased over 60 per cent as advertising and subscription revenue gains drove total revenue up 10 per cent. Higher revenues came primarily from Star Plus as well as contributions from several new channels in India, including Star One, the company said in a release.
What led to News Corp’s decline in overall net income? “Higher consolidated operating income and an improvement in equity earnings of affiliates were more than offset by a $77 million loss recognised on the company’s investment in regional programming partners,” News Corp said in a release.
Commenting on the results, Murdoch said: “The quarter saw strong performances in our filmed entertainment and cable network programming segments. While the television segment was down year-on-year, reflecting higher programming costs and the soft advertising marketplace in the US, our stations generated record market share and the broadcast network, on the heels of its victory during the February sweeps, is poised to win the broadcast season ratings race for the first time in its history.”
The quarterly results were dragged down by a 15 per cent fall in TV operating income to $221 million, largely due to a rise in programming expenses at the Fox network from the Super Bowl.
Cable network programming reported third quarter operating income of $172 million, an increase of $61 million a year earlier. The 55 per cent growth reflects continued advertising and affiliate strength at Fox News Channel and FX, the lack of NHL programming costs at the Regional Sports Networks due to the cancellation of the season and the absence of losses from the Los Angeles Dodgers which was sold during fiscal 2004, the release said.
The filmed Entertainment segment reported record third quarter operating income of $251 million, up 15 per cent versus the $218 million reported a year ago. The current quarter results primarily reflect strong worldwide theatrical revenues and increased contributions from film and television home entertainment releases.
SKY Italia reported a third quarter operating loss of $21 million versus $24 million a year ago on local currency revenue growth of 20 per cent. The improvement versus the prior year primarily reflects strong subscriber additions over the past year with more than 136,000 net new subscribers added during the third quarter alone. SKY Italia.s subscriber base exceeded 3.2 million at quarter end. “The revenue growth was mostly offset by increased programming spending during the quarter primarily due to the broadcast of additional soccer matches and movie titles as well as the addition of ten new entertainment and news channels on the basic programming tier,” the release informed.
Murdoch aims to buy Malone’s stake in News Corp
Murdoch was quoted in international agencies as having said that he wants to buy all or a portion of Liberty Media chief John Malone’s 18 per cent stake in News Corp. The chairmain and CEO of the media giant told analysts that he hoped to resolve the lingering issues with Liberty in the next three months. Commenting on the group’s plans for its $6 billion cash reserves, Murdoch said: “We have got various alternative ways to deal with that, but we are not going to make up our mind to do anything until we resolve the Liberty position, which we would expect to do certainly before we get back to you again in three months.”
BskyB on target
Beating estimates, BSkyB has added 95,000 net digital satellite subscribers in its fiscal third quarter. Total subscribers has crossed over 7.7 million, indicating that the company is well in line to meet its target of eight million subscribers by 2005-end.
Net income for the quarter rose 5.3 per cent to 119 million pounds, from 113 pounds a year ago. Revenue jumped 9 per cent to 1,015 pounds, up from 931 million pounds.
News Broadcasting
WITT Summit 2026 concludes in New Delhi
Babar Azam’s comical diving attempt goes viral as league introduces anti-dew measures.
MUMBAI: The WITT Summit just wrapped up with enough big ideas to fill a policy playbook because when India’s leaders, thinkers and icons gather under one roof, even the conversations hit sixes. The eighth edition of TV9 Network’s flagship What India Thinks Today (WITT) Summit 2026 concluded on Saturday after two days of dynamic discussions at its New Delhi venue. India’s largest multi-domain public policy and culture summit brought together political leaders, policymakers, sports icons, artists and technology innovators to examine the forces shaping contemporary India and its global standing.
Prime minister Narendra Modi delivered the keynote address on the theme “India and the World” for the third consecutive year. In a wide-ranging speech, he addressed the ongoing conflict in West Asia, calling for restraint and compassion while highlighting India’s continued development trajectory despite global turmoil.
The summit featured candid conversations with state leaders. Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy articulated a people-first governance model and contrasted it with other development approaches. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav declared that Left-wing extremism had been effectively eliminated in his state and highlighted preparations for the upcoming Kumbh Mela. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann defended his government’s record, citing the closure of 19 toll plazas and creation of the Sadak Suraksha Force. Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar expressed confidence in Congress prospects in Assam and addressed recent allegations against him.
On geopolitics and national security, Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia outlined India’s ambition to become a builder of trusted digital infrastructure for the world, citing the rapid 5G rollout and village-level 4G connectivity.
Cricket received significant attention. Former India captain Sourav Ganguly praised player freedom and trust as hallmarks of great leadership and named MS Dhoni as the greatest captain due to his World Cup successes. India women’s team bowling coach Aavishkar Salvi credited the BCCI and Women’s Premier League for building a pipeline of world-class talent behind the team’s recent ODI World Cup triumph.
The summit also hosted the inaugural AI² Awards 2026, celebrating the convergence of human creativity and machine intelligence in storytelling and content creation. Poet and kathavachak Kumar Vishwas delivered a nuanced take on India’s concept of Dharma and criticised the recent arrest of an 80-year-old Shankaracharya. Veteran lyricist Sameer Anjaan and storyteller Neelesh Misra reflected on changing music trends and artistic responsibility in the wake of a recent controversy involving Nora Fatehi.
In a country where conversations often run as deep as the Ganges, the WITT Summit proved once again that when leaders, thinkers and storytellers come together, the real winner is public discourse lively, layered and refreshingly unafraid to tackle the big questions shaping India’s tomorrow.
