News Broadcasting
ICC sets 7 Nov for audio-visual rights tenders submission
MUMBAI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the availability of its Invitation to Tender (ITT) document for audio-visual rights for ICC Events from late 2007 to 2015.
This is the latest step in the process of exploiting its rights for the eight-year period and follows a series of meetings between the ICC and interested broadcasters and agencies over the past month.
Those broadcasters and agencies wishing to pursue an interest and receive the ITT can do so by applying to the ICC through email.
Once they have done that they will be sent a confidentiality letter. When they sign that letter and pay a fee to the ICC they will receive the tender documentation. The deadline for submission of tenders is 7 November 2006.
ICC CEO Malcolm Speed said, “This is the latest stage of the process to sell the ICC’s commercial and broadcast rights and it is a hugely significant and exciting time for cricket.
“We have already been gratified and encouraged by the meetings we have held with many interested parties and those meetings have indicated to us that the level of interest in these rights is extremely high.
“The sale of our rights gives us the opportunity to place cricket on a sound financial footing for the next eight years and, by doing that, it will provide all our Members with the chance to both sustain and grow the game. Yhroughout this whole process we have only one aim in mind – securing the best deal for cricket”.
Included in the eight-year period under discussion are 18 ICC tournaments with two World Cups, in Asia (2011) and Australasia (2015), and a minimum of three ICC Champions Trophy tournaments.
Also included are the first two ICC Twenty20 World Championships, in South Africa (2007) and England (2009), the latter taking place in the ICC’s centenary year.
And there are Cricket World Cup Qualifiers, four ICC U/19 Cricket World Cups, and, for the first time, the Women’s Cricket World Cup, with two tournaments scheduled for 2009 (Australia) and 2013 (India) in the eight-year timeframe.
Meanwhile the BBC’s head of sport, Roger Mosey has said it would bid for live English cricket rights in 2010 when the ECB’s existing deal with pay-broadcaster BSkyB expires. He said that cricket should follow the model used for football, where rights are sold in packages, allowing several broadcasters to share the rights for live games and highlights.
He has been quoted in media reports saying that a multi-platform model with BSkyB having live Premiership games; the BBC showing Match of the Day and live FA Cup games; ITV and BSkyB sharing the Champions League worked well.
Further details and updates of the sales process will be announced by the ICC in due course.
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.
