News Broadcasting
CNBC-TV18 partners with TCS and Twitter for elections
MUMBAI: Social media can no longer be sidestepped when it comes to figuring out the mood of the people. Recently, c announced its partnership with Twitter for the upcoming elections and now another business broadcaster has decided to bond with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and the social media hub Twitter to track insights into the Lok Sabha elections.
Through TCS’s app iElect, CNBC-TV18 will use the analysis and data from it on air through the day. Says CNBC-TV18 managing editor Shereen Bhan, “These elections are landmark, in the sense that we are all seeing a lot of Indians having conversations and voicing their opinions online. It would be interesting and extremely insightful to be able to gauge the sentiment of Indians in this new age of social media. We at CNBC-TV18 have always been at the heart of bringing value to our viewers through credible reportage, insights and analysis. This partnership complements our cause of enabling our viewers to view elections in a well rounded, informed manner.”
TCS global communications VP and head Pradipta Bagchi said, “TCS is happy to bring real time social media analysis to CNBC-TV18. India has a large amount of smartphone users and almost 100 million first-time voters in general elections 2014. TCS iElect will be new and engaging for them to participate through the entire process with its gamified and interactive features We think bringing live television & Twitter together along with TCS’s big data capability will change the way India will look at election 2014.”
Twitter India marketi director Rishi Jaitly commented “Twitter is at the heart of the political conversation in this election. We are excited that CNBC-TV18, using the TCS iElect App, will be distributing Twitter conversations and their analysis to a new set of TV viewers. This is in line with our strategy of making elections-related conversations on Twitter accessible by everyone, placing real-time data and content in the hands of every Indian to make an informed voting decision.”
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.
