News Broadcasting
Press Council chief wants TV to be under its ambit
NEW DELHI: Justice Markandey Katju, the new chairman of the Press Council of India, has urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that the electronic media should be brought under the purview of the Council.
Reiterating a demand made over a decade earlier that the Press Council of India should be renamed Media Council of India, he has also sought more penal powers, though, he said these powers would be used sparingly.
He has received a reply from the PMO that the matter is “under consideration”, and it is learnt that the letter has been forwarded to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry for comment.
The former Supreme Court judge has also asked the union government to defer its move to amend the rules relating to renewal of license for TV news channels for violating the Broadcasting Code.
Among other things, he wants powers to stop government advertisements and powers to suspend the licence of a news media for some time if it behaves in an ‘obnoxious‘ manner.
In an informal chat with newspersons, he said he had also met Opposition leader Sushma Swaraj who felt that there could be a “consensus” on the demands.
Asked if this would not mean a threat to the freedom of the media, he said, “Everybody is accountable in a democracy. No freedom is absolute. Every freedom is subject to reasonable restrictions.”
He expressed the view that TV debates were frivolous, and there was no discipline among panellists. He candidly said he had a very poor opinion of the media.
But “harsh measures” against the media should be resorted to only in extreme situations.
He wanted the Council to discuss the issue relating to renewal of licences of news channels.
Meanwhile, the the 71-page report of the Press Council Committee of Paranjoy Guha Thakurta and Sreenivas Reddy on paid news had been uploaded on the website of the PCI following the directions of the Central Information Commission. But the Council had added the disclaimer that it had rejected the report.
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.
