News Broadcasting
Esha Media Research to go overseas
KOLKATA: After monitoring over 140 channels in regional languages broadcast across the country, Esha Media Research, a media monitoring and research company, is gearing up to track the overseas television channels.
The wish to monitor TV channels in the foreign countries like Singapore, Malaysia among others comes at a time when the corporate clients of research firm have expanded their work base in those countries.
“Most of our corporate clients do not have access to local TV channels in the other countries. With information being the critical aspect for the clients, we will start monitoring overseas television channel,” said Esha Media Research managing director RS Iyer.
It is learnt that the company is evaluating both the options of either having its own base or tie-up with the agencies in those countries.
When being asked about the revenue model the company is looking at, the company believes that it will see that it gets an opportunity to monitor at least 15-20 minutes of clipping per week. “We will see the RoI (return of investment) should be good at Singapore and Malaysia,” he adds.
indiantelevision.com has already reported that the media company plans to increase the monitoring to 200 channels in the country, in the near future.
“The monitoring is done using state of- the-art equipment that allows it to record, retrieve, transcribe, translate, and deliver reports in formats ranging from CD and DVD to immediate uploads via FTP or a customized web page. This enables the client to log in, access and also news of their interest, anytime, anywhere,” he adds further.
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.
