News Broadcasting
Australia Network set to launch on DD Direct+
MUMBAI: DD Direct+ consumers, starting November, will have an added network to their channel list. Following a recent agreement between ABC International and Doordarshan, Australia Network is all set to launch on DD Direct+.
Australia Network is a 24/7 entertainment and news channel offering viewers a mix of content from around Australia and the region covering news, sport, science, education, arts, children’s programming, drama and English language learning. The channel is available in 45 countries across the Asia and Pacific region.
To mark the launch of the new service, the ABC’s agenda-setting panel discussion programme, Q&A, wasl broadcast live from Delhi on Monday 18 November. Q & A’s host, Tony Jones, led a high profile panel which included India’s Minister of State for Human Resource Development Shashi Tharoor; former Australian cricketer Stuart MacGill; Australian-born Bollywood star Pallavi Sharda; outspoken conservative commentator Swapan Dasgupta; Tehelka editor Shoma Chaudhury and award-winning TV host and journalist Karan Thapar. The panel discussed issues of mutual interest to both countries in front of an audience comprising both Indians and Australians.
ABC International is also set to launch a new website for India, AustraliaPlus.com/India – the new digital home of the best of Australian content covering arts and culture, business, education, health, lifestyle, news and current affairs, science, sports, technology and travel. The website will offer content in both English and Hindi as well as will have an Indian news feed from Doordashan. The website’s launch closely follows the introduction of ABC International’s Chinese mobile phone app into the China market last month.
“As 2013 nears an end, we are seeing an enormous growth in the sharing of content between India and Australia through a number of channels,” said ABC International CEO Lynley Marshall.
Marshall said the initiatives reflected the growing demand for more information about contemporary Australian life, the growing connections in business, education and tourism and the people to people links.
DD Direct+ CEO Jawhar Sircar said, “We really look forward to having ABC hosted on our DD Direct+ as it helps Indians to understand and appreciate Australia and its culture in a far better manner, and with more depth than at present.”
“We also look forward to ABC assisting and guiding us in telling Australian audiences more about India, its people, and its culture,” he added.
Australia Network is also available in key metropolitan markets across the Indian sub-continent via a number of regional cable and satellite television operators.
News Broadcasting
Network18 posts Rs 1,955 crore revenue, narrows FY26 losses
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.
