News Broadcasting
F7 Broadcast partners Harmonic for contribution solution
MUMBAI: Indian based media company F7 Broadcast has selected Harmonic’s comprehensive contribution solution for live events and news coverage.
Harmonic is a leader in video delivery infrastructure, whereas F7 Broadcast owns six channels (five news and one entertainment). Utilizing Harmonic’s Ellipse 3200 contribution encoders and ProView 7100 integrated receiver-decoders (IRDs), F7 Broadcast has transitioned from DVB-S/MPEG-4 to DVB-S2/MPEG-4 video delivery to optimize video quality, increase bandwidth efficiency, and lower operating expenses.
F7 Broadcast executive vice president, IT, broadcast and engineering Naveen Goel said, “Today’s viewers have an insatiable appetite for live news. They want to know what’s happening, while it’s happening, on a variety of devices. In order to provide 24/7 news coverage, we needed a contribution solution that would guarantee superior bandwidth efficiency and video quality for multiple channels.”
“We are using Harmonic’s solutions in all DSNG vehicles to send live feeds from regional locations back to the main headend in Noida. We are very impressed with the cost savings and video quality improvements they provide,” he added.
Featuring compact and rugged 1RU design, the Ellipse encoders easily fit into F7 Broadcast’s DSNG vehicles. Their small system footprint and low power consumption further reduce F7 Broadcast’s operating expenses. Additionally, since next-generation video codecs and formats can easily be added to the Ellipse encoders via a simple firmware upgrade, F7 Broadcast enjoys a scalable migration path and superior operational flexibility.
“Harmonic’s industry-leading video compression expertise combined with our global deployment experience, make us the No. 1 choice for media companies like F7 Broadcast, who are looking to improve video quality and workflow efficiency for contribution applications,” added Harmonic India general manager Dan Taylor.
The Ellipse 3200 encoders are seamlessly interoperable with Harmonic’s ProView 7100 IRDS. After compression of AVC HD 4:2:2 10-bit video using the Ellipse encoders, F7 Broadcast uses the ProView 7100 decoders to decompress content at the same sampling and bitrate. The end result is a contribution workflow with nearly lossless video quality.
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.
