News Broadcasting
BBC World News to air Intelligence Squared debates
MUMBAI: BBC World News is set to launch Intelligence Squared, a series of topical debates, taking place in London and New York, which are set to stimulate and challenge the channel’s audience across the world.
Intelligence Squared is an established debate forum founded in the UK six years ago. It attracts many speakers and includes audience participation and a vote on the outcome.
The first debate’s motion is ‘George W Bush is the worst American president of the last fifty years.’
The channel will telecast the debate from 10 January and speakers include Bush’s former deputy chief of staff Karl Rove; The Weekly Standard editor William Kristol; The Bush Tragedy author Jacob Weisberg; and British journalist Simon Jenkins.
This will be followed in February with a debate from London, with the motion ‘The United Nations is terminally paralysed: the democratic world needs a forum of its own.’ In March the motion will be ‘Major carbon reductions are not worth the money.’
The debates will be chaired by BBC World News presenter Zeinab Badawi in London and ABC News’ John Donvan in New York.
BBC World News commissioning editor Mary Wilkinson says, “We are excited about broadcasting the Intelligence Squared debates to the BBC World News audience. Combining current and provocative issues with high-profile panellists, we are confident the series will appeal to the channel’s 78 million weekly viewers around the globe.”
Intelligence Squared, which broadcasts on radio in the US, is an initiative of the Rosenkranz foundation. Chairman Robert Rosenkranz says, “The BBC World News series will engage a global television audience in the same high level discourse that radio listeners in the US have so appreciated.”
The US debates are produced by Dana Wolfe, a former producer at ABC News Nightline.
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.
