News Broadcasting
India TV’S ‘Chunav Manch Up’ creates national headlines
MUMBAI: India TV’s UP election conclave made national headlines when Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister gave his first and frank reaction on reports of family feud. Akhilesh Yadav chose AapKi Adalat at India TV’s full-day mega conclave Chunav Manch – Uttar Pradesh to state that he wants the final say on selection of candidates of his party for the coming assembly elections. His assertion created thunderous & rippling national headlines.
Riding on the towering scale of execution, enviable line-up of participation, precise timing & India TV’s editor-in-chief Rajat Sharma himself leading the charge with a series of power packed Aap Ki Adalat – Chunav Manch Specials, compelled rival news channels to cut India TV Mega Conclave live.
While the Hyper-Political Uttar Pradesh continued riddling the fervent political watchers and the most able national media, India TV yet again triumphed in delving top-end and exclusive content right from the epicenter of activity, Lucknow, that was picked up by none but all of the National Media at real time.
While UP’s first family showed no signs of recouping from the feud it has found itself into & while speculations were at its peak, India TV Chunav Manch saw UP CM Akhilesh Yadav & his Uncle & Senior SP Leader Shivpal Yadav in two separate exclusives, those had the entire nation, including the top media organizations glued.
Other big headlines came from no less than BJP National President Amit Shah, BJP State President Keshav Maurya, Congress State President Raj Babbar, Cabinet Minister Anupriya Patel, SP MP Naresh Agarwal amongst top National & State Politicians like Congress MP PL Punia, EX- UP BJP Chief Laxmikant Bajpai, Maharashtra SP Chief Abu Azmi, BJP MLA Sangeet Som, Congress Leader & Former MoS Home Affairs RPN Singh, AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi, Congress MLA Pramod Tiwari, BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj, SP Leader Ambika Chaudhary, BJP MP Jagdambika Pal, Congress Leader & Former MoS HRD Jitin Prasad, SP Spoksperson Gaurav Bhatia, BJP Spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi, Congress Leader Akhilesh Pratap Singh amongst others.
India TV MD & CEO Ritu Dhawan on the success of India TV Chunav Manch conceded, “Though we were sure that we will raise the bar for our industry peers with sheer scale & concept of execution itself, but we are elated to be able to match our audiences high expectations in terms of power content created through the effort.”
“We compete only with ourselves” She added while highlighting the strategic punctuation of a couple of Aap Ki Adalat Chunav Manch Specials.
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.
