News Broadcasting
Star TV office in Mumbai ransacked
MUMBAI: An irate mob belonging to a little known organisation called Hindu Rashtriya Sena ransacked the Star TV office in Mumbai today, smashing cars parked outside the office and also damaging the office itself. The motive: anger over a programme showing a Muslim youth and a Hindu minor girl who had eloped.
Star News issued a statement condemning the incident: “We condemn this attack on our office by certain anti-social elements. They completely ransacked the Star News Office in Mumbai today, injuring our security & other staff and causing huge financial damage. It is alarming that people are using such means to register their protests. We believe that this is in reaction to our coverage about a young eloped couple from Surat. As a responsible news channel we have factually reported the situations surrounding the same. We will cooperate fully with the authorities to ensure that necessary action is taken.”
Meanhwile, Mumbai Police Commissioner of DN Jhadav said, “A little known group Hindu Rashtriya Sena was behind the attack. We have detained 35 people in the case. We will take all legal action.”
Maharashtra Deputy CM and Home Minister RR Patil promised to get tough against the miscreants stating that “such strict action would be taken against these people (to ensure) that such an action is never repeated.”
Star News CEO Uday Shankar, however, remained unconvinced by Patil’s assurances. Shankar lambasted the role of the authorities such incidents when he pointed out that such acts were becoming increasingly common because there has never been any serious action taken in the past against any of these groups.
Said Shankar, “The most disturbing part of this whole episode is the kind of intolerance that political groups can resort to and the kind of dispute resolution mechanism that is becoming increasingly popular across India where anything that a media organisation says or prints that is remotely unpalatable to an organisation or individual and you will see their supporters and goons ransacking everything.”
Information and Broadcasting Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi also weighed in, terming the attack on Star as an assault on democracy and demanded that the state government bring the culprits to book.
It is worth noting here that on 9 February, 2006, a mob of over 100 Shiv Sainiks, raising slogans of Shiv Sena chief Bal Tackeray, had pelted stones at a Zee News office and had ransacked the property in protest against the telecast of a play on Zee Alpha Marathi channel.
In that attack several Zee News employees were also injured, with a few of them having been rushed to a nearby hospital.
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.
