News Broadcasting
News Corp reports record results, set for further earnings growth
MUMBAI: “A record end to a record year. The most profitable fourth quarter ever and the most profitable year in our company’s 80 years of existence.”
That was how Rupert Murdoch described the record earnings at News Corp Ltd’s filmed entertainment, television, cable TV and Harper Collins publishing businesses that have powered the media moghul’s company to a 2002/03 fiscal fourth-quarter profit of $370 million, compared with a loss of $1.74 billion last year. Revenues rose 21 per cent, to $4.6 billion from $3.8 billion, last year.
The loss last year was in large part due to the $1.9 billion write-down of its 43 per cent investment in Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc.
‘A record end to a record year’: Rupert Murdoch (Picture courtesy news.com.au)
Full year net profit stood at $1.05 billion, driven mainly by strong growth in advertising revenues at its television and cable networks.
Aided by programmes like American Idol and Joe Millionaire, the Fox network reversed its lacklustre performance from the previous year and the Fox News Channel’s profit nearly doubled with higher ad revenue overcoming increased costs of coverage of the US-led invasion of Iraq.
DVD and video sales of movies including Ice Age and Shallow Hal added to cinema releases of X2: X-Men United, Daredevil, 28 Days Later, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and One Hour Photo to all added to the News Corp kitty.
Asked by reporters if News Corp’s latest earnings results were as good as it gets for the company, Murdoch was quoted as saying: “Of course not. We’re not going to rest until we are many times this.”
That statement was backed up by company CFO David DeVoe who said that News Corp and its Fox Entertainment business were gearing up for another strong result in 2003/04.
“We expect that 2004 operating income growth at News Corporation will be in the range of high single digits to low double digit, which includes absorbing losses from Sky Italia of approximately $300 million,” De Voe was quoted as saying.
Speaking about News Corp’s $6.6 billion acquisition of satellite television company DirecTV, Murdoch told financial analysts during a conference call that he remained hopeful the transaction would receive necessary regulatory approvals by the end of the year.
News Broadcasting
Mihir Bhatt appointed as chief content officer at News18 Studios
The media veteran brings two decades of experience across television, digital and radio to one of India’s biggest broadcast networks, Disney+ Hotstar, Discovery+
NEW DELHI: Network18 has a new strategist in the building. Mihir Bhatt, one of Indian media’s more versatile operators, has joined News18 Studios as chief content officer, stepping into a role that will see him shape content strategy, build multi-platform properties and drive brand partnerships across the network.
Bhatt brings more than two decades of experience spanning television, digital and radio, with a track record of doing something rare in Indian media: combining editorial ambition with hard commercial results. At Times Network, where he served as managing editor and chief business officer of Times Influence, he built one of the industry’s more respected content studios, launching marquee properties such as the India Economic Conclave, the Times Now Summit and Leaders of Tomorrow. He also pushed the network into premium OTT territory through tie-ups with Disney+ Hotstar and Discovery+.
His resume stretches well beyond the studio. Bhatt has led Global Investor Summits for multiple state governments, worked alongside the World Economic Forum and played a pivotal role in launching the Indian Pickleball League. Earlier, as editor of Zee Business, he pioneered investor education initiatives that are still cited as industry benchmarks.
At News18 Studios, Bhatt will report to chief executive S Shivakumar and will oversee the studios execution vertical alongside revenue verticals covering emerging markets and campaigns. Sidharth Saini, Hemanth Kumar and Nimar Sarkaria will work under him.
Rahul Joshi, managing director and editor-in-chief of Network18 Group, made the announcement in an internal communication. “Mihir’s ability to build enduring brands, foster strategic partnerships and navigate a rapidly evolving media landscape will be instrumental as we continue to strengthen our position and explore new avenues of growth in the Studios business,” Joshi said.
In a media industry lurching between disruption and reinvention, Network18 has bet on a man who has spent two decades thriving in exactly that chaos. Whether he can do it again, at greater scale, is the question worth watching.
