News Broadcasting
Murdoch offers $44 million for Manhattan penthouse
MUMBAI: Media moghul and billionaire chairman of News Corp Rupert Murdoch has, according to agency reports, offered to buy a penthouse in New York’s upscale Manhattan area for cool $44 million.
If the deal for the three-story penthouse, which belonged to the late Laurance S Rockefeller, goes through it would make it the highest price ever paid for a Manhattan apartment.
Murdoch and his family, however, must also be approved by the co-op board of the building, at 834 Fifth Avenue, The New York Times reported on Friday, citing an unnamed source informed of the negotiations. Howard Rubenstein, a spokesman for Murdoch, declined comment to the Times.
The offer was reportedly accepted on Monday by representatives of Rockefeller’s estate, which is responsible for the sale.
The co-op’s rules require a buyer to pay all cash for an apartment in the building, which is at 64th Street, across from the entrance to the Central Park Zoo.
The penthouse is apparently one of the city’s most opulent apartments on one of the most elegant stretches of Fifth Avenue. The apartment spans across the 14th, 15th and 16th floors of the building which was designed by the architect Rosario Candela and completed in 1931. It has 20 rooms making up about 8,000 square feet and about 4,000 square feet of terraces spread over the three floors. The monthly maintenance is $21,469.07.
Murdoch last march was ranked No. 43 on Forbes magazine’s list of the world’s richest people, with an estimated net worth of $7.8 billion. His company News Corp owns Fox Broadcasting, The New York Post Twentieth Century Fox and Asia’s Star Group, among other properties.
The current record for a Manhattan apartment stands at $42.25 million, paid last year for a pair of adjoining condominium units at the Time Warner Center on Columbus Circle.
News Broadcasting
Network18 Q4 revenue grows 9.7 per cent, EBITDA at Rs 30 crore
PAT improves to Rs 306.6 crore, margins steady amid cost pressures.
MUMBAI: Not all news is breaking, some of it is quietly improving. Network18 Media & Investments Limited appears to be doing just that, tightening losses and stabilising margins even as costs continue to weigh on the business. For FY26, the company reported revenue from operations of Rs 1,955.1 crore, up from Rs 1,896.2 crore in FY25, signalling modest top-line growth in a challenging media environment. Total income stood at Rs 1,978.2 crore, compared to Rs 1,913 crore a year earlier.
Profit after tax came in at Rs 306.6 crore for the year, a sharp turnaround from Rs 3,225.4 crore in FY25, largely reflecting the absence of large exceptional items that had inflated the previous year’s numbers. On a more comparable basis, the company’s operating performance showed signs of gradual stabilisation.
However, the quarterly picture remained under pressure. For the March quarter, Network18 reported a loss of Rs 53.1 crore, narrower than the Rs 98.1 crore loss in the same period last year, but still indicative of ongoing cost challenges.
Expenses continued to track high. Total expenses for FY26 stood at Rs 2,235.7 crore, up from Rs 2,197.8 crore in FY25. Key cost heads included operational expenses of Rs 765.9 crore, employee benefits of Rs 475.9 crore, and marketing, distribution and promotional spends of Rs 427.1 crore, underlining the continued investment required to sustain reach and engagement.
At an operating level, margins remained under strain. Operating margin stood at 2.33 per cent for FY26, marginally higher than 1.77 per cent in FY25, while net profit margin remained negative at -13.02 per cent, though improved from -14.89 per cent.
On the balance sheet, total assets rose to Rs 8,957.6 crore as of 31 March 2026, from Rs 8,317.5 crore a year earlier. Equity strengthened to Rs 4,958.7 crore, while borrowings increased to Rs 3,112.8 crore, reflecting a higher reliance on debt to support operations.
Cash flows told a mixed story. While financing activities generated Rs 83.9 crore, operating cash flow remained negative at Rs -24 crore, highlighting ongoing pressure on core cash generation. Cash and cash equivalents, however, improved to Rs 33.9 crore from Rs 1.8 crore.
The numbers point to a company in transition growing revenues, trimming losses, but still grappling with structural cost pressures. In a sector where scale often comes at a price, Network18 seems to be inching towards balance, one quarter at a time.
