News Broadcasting
Amrita TV Offers A Rich Repast For Id-Ul-Fitr
MUMBAI: When the sighting of the shawwal moon marks the end of the month of fasting and millions throng the mosques and masjids to offer prayers, Amrita TV celebrates Id with a series of special shows.
Al Manar, a Ramadan special show that had been regaling viewers for half-an-hour everyday of the Holy Month with a sweeping coverage of the rich cultural heritage of Malabar, culminates its month long celebrations with a special telecast at 9 am on Friday August 9th ,that gives glimpses of conventional Muslim folk art such as Oppana, Duff Muttu, Qwaalis, Ghazals etc that re-affirms the significance of the most important month in the Islamic calender.
Nombu Thura at 9.30 am presents a lip-smacking buffet of the traditional delicacies of the magnificent Iftar banquet with which the faithful break their day long fast. Prepared and served piping hot in a prominent Muslim home in Thallesery, it captures the flavor and taste of the exotic dishes of the famed Mappila cuisine of the Malabar coast-of unnakaye, erachi pathiri, kozhi pidi, chicken samosa, kallumekaye nirachathu and so on.
The high spot of the festive day is a free wheeling conversation 'Chamyangalillathe Chacochan'at 10 am in which the reflective and articulate young icon is caught in a confidential mode, opening his heart out on the high hopes he nurses for his latest outing in Lal Jose's Pullipulikalum Aattinkuttiyum, a rollicking out and out mass entertainer where he dons the role of a modern day Kuttanadan native whose 'get up' is such that he has 'stepped out of Alappuzha but has not quite reached Fort Kochi' ; the perils encountered in the death defying shoot schedule of the film in the heart of flood ravaged Kuttanad; his decade long friendship with Lal Jose who gave him an image make over from dashing pin-up boy to rustic country bumpkin in his 2nd coming in Elsamma enna Aankutty; the indefinable, mysterious chemistry he shares with Biju Menon that has given Mollywood some of its greatest box office hits etc.
Leading to the lavish Id lunch at noon, is Sneha sangamam at 11.30 am, a sumptuous spread of dance and song jointly hosted by Amrita TV and the Bangalore Kerala Samajam that scoops out the most delectable classic dance medleys choreographed on Mollywood's favourite songs, by Vineeth, Lekshmi Gopalaswmy and group; a treat of recent Malayalam hits by playback stars Afzal, Biju Narayanan, Sweta Mohan, Sreeram and Meghna;skits that have one in stitches from Country Cousins; caricatures from Jayaraj Warrier that hits bull's eye, all of which will have the audience hungering for more.
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.
