News Broadcasting
News Corp’s Q1 Net soars 27 % to $ 536 million
MUMBAI: Media mogul Rupert Murdoch must be one happy man. If the brilliant first quarter results his News Corp has just delivered were not enough, that his choice for US president George W Bush has so convincingly won a second term in office must have given him additional reason to crow.
News Corp has announced a 27 per cent increase in its first-quarter (ending 30 September) Net, helped by growth in advertising at the Fox News Channel and the Fox broadcast network, as well as a strong performance from the company’s newspapers in the UK and Australia.
Net profit stood at $536 million as against $422 million in the corresponding quarter last year. Net income was up to $536 million from $422 million a year ago. Sales were up 12 per cent at $5.19 billion from last year’s $4.6 billion.
A 12 per cent jump has also been seen in the consolidated operating income at $805 million from $719 million last year.
News Corp will also be relocating its headquarters and main listing to the United States from Australia for which it has just received court clearance.
Among the new initiatives in the pipeline are plans for a financial news channel. Negotiations are currently on with distributors to carry the channel, Murdoch said in a conference call. “We are planning to do, certainly, a top business news channel some time in the future,” News Corp’s chairman and CEO has been quoted in media reports as saying.
STAR’S STOCK CONTINUES TO RISE
News Corp’s broadcast television business rose 30 per cent to $233 million from $179 million on higher ad prices and lower costs for prime-time programs. A significant contribution came in from Asia, with the Star Group reporting higher operating profits. Star’s revenues were up 14 per cent on the back of increased ad sales out of India and China as well.
Meanwhile, billionaire cable TV investor John Malone’s Liberty Media has said it may buy $1.5 billion of News Corp.’s voting stock in an equity swap deal with Merrill Lynch in April 2005. Liberty said in a statement that it had entered into a transaction involving 84.7 million shares.
Reports say that if the deal goes through, it could double Liberty’s current 9.15 per cent voting stake in the company, potentially paving the way for a challenge to the Murdoch family’s hold on News Corp.
Murdoch, however, appeared unperturbed. “I think it’s an endorsement of the company,” he said. “I say that quite sincerely. I’m not losing any sleep over it.”
News Corp. is the world’s fifth largest media group and owns the Fox network, 20th Century Fox film studios and a host of newspaper and satellite assets including BSkyB and DirecTV.
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.
