News Broadcasting
Educational institutions to have own radio stations
NEW DELHI: India’s Union Cabinet yesterday approved a proposal to allow universities, technical institutes like the Indian Institutes of Technology and the business management schools like the Indian Institutes of Management to set up their own FM radio stations.
The proposal, as reported by indiantelevision a few months ago, allows such educational organisations as also residential schools to have FM radio stations of their own with a maximum range of five kilometres.
This, the government says, would allow educational institutes to reach out to their closed community in a better fashion and that too at not a very high cost. A typical such FM radio station project, including programming, would cost around Rs. 10,00,000.
Unlike in the privatisation of the FM radio sector where players bid for the licence in some cities of the country — at times going overboard and bidding too high — the universities and schools would not be needed to pay a licence fee
According to information and broadcasting minister Sushma Swaraj, here only a fee would have to be paid for the spectrum to the wireless planning co-ordinator. She also said that rules would be framed, but by and large the FM radio stations of educational institutes would be guided by the programming code of pubcaster All India Radio.
When contacted, a senior functionary of Delhi University, with affiliated colleges, spread all over the city, said such FM radio stations would prove to be of immense use to spread various news and information regarding the university, especially during admission and exam time.
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.
