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
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.
