News Broadcasting
News Express brings Sanjeev Kumar as network sales head
MUMBAI: After quitting India TV and joining News Express as CEO, Vinod Kapri has been working on getting his A team together. The latest to be recruited is media professional Sanjeev Kumar who will be heading the channel’s network sales.
Kumar has over seven years of experience, the last being as the country head for ANN7 in South Africa. He has also worked as a vice president of sales at Zee News handling the channels Zee News, Zee UP/UK, Zee Punjabi, Zee MPCG. He was also associated with the Outlook group and Bennet Coleman and Co.
Kapri says, “Sanjeev Kumar has a very rich experience of media sales and is a step further in our endeavour to build a team of best professionals in media.”
He has already beefed up the channel’s editorial and managerial teams and is also focusing on improving its distribution. Amit Tripathi was earlier roped in as COO, Satish K Singh as the editor, Ravikant Mittal as managing editor and Jacob Matthew as executive editor.
While the channel isn’t available on a lot of platforms as of now, it has struck a deal with one of India’s biggest DTH operators – Tata Sky – recently. Close to 11 million subscribers will get to watch News Express from 5 February onwards.
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.
