News Broadcasting
DD News to telecast Rail and Union Budgets 2006
NEW DELHI
February 13th, 2006
DD NEWS CHANNEL
Doordarshan will telecast the Pre-rail Budget, Rail Budget and Pre-Budget and General Budget – 2006 on the DD News Channel as per the following
schedule:-
PRE-RAIL BUDGET
Date Time Slot Topic of programme
23.02.2006 7.30-08.00 PM Wheels of Progress – Recorded, Anchor Mark Lynn
RAIL BUDGET
24.02.2006 10.30 – 11.00 AM Pre-Rail Budget-Discussion – LiveAnchor – Mark Lynn & Ashok Srivastava/Neelam Sharma
11AM–12.30 PM Railway Ministers’ Rail Budget Speech- Live from Parliament 12.30 – 02.00 PM Post Rail Budget Discussion – Anchor – Mark Lynn & Ashok Srivastava/ Neelam Sharma 09.30 – 10.30 PM Discussion on Rail Budget – 2006Anchor – Ashok Srivastava/ Neelam Sharma
STATE OF THE ECONOMY
PROGRAMMING FOR ECONOMIC SURVEY
27.02.2006 12.00-01.00 PM State of the economy – Discussion on the
Economic Survey – 2006Anchor Paranjoy Guha Thakurta & Ashok Srivastava/Neelam Sharma- Panel discussion with Economists with Live Inputs from the Stock Markets and Reporters. Reaction from Chambers of Commerce and Finance Minister
PRE-BUDGET “AASHA AUR APEKSHA – BUDGET 2006”
24.02.2006 07.30-8.00 PM Aasha Aur Apeksha – Budget 2006Anchor – Srivastava 25.02.2006 07.30-08.00 PM Aasha Aur Apeksha – Budget 2006Anchor – Ashok Srivastava-Crude Prices and Inflationary Pressures. Balancing Liquidity demands of a growing economy and tightening money supply to rein in inflation 26.02.2006 07.30-08.00 PM Aasha Aur Apeksha – Budget 2006Anchor – Ashok Srivastava-Taxation, Tax Reforms, VAT, the problems of export duty structures and FBT 27.02.2006 07.30-08.00 PM Aasha Aur Apeksha – Budget 2006Anchor – Ashok Srivastava- Agriculture Employment, Bharat Nirman and the other flagship programmes of the UPA Government
GENERAL BUDGET – 2006
28.02.2006 10.00-11.00 PM Pre-Budget DiscussionAnchor – Mark Lynn & Ashok Srivastava/ Neelam Sharma-discussion with experts’ Live Inputs from Stock Markets and Chamber of Industry 11.00-12.30 PM Finance Minister’s Budget Speech – Live from Parliament 12.30-02.00 PM Post Budget DiscussionAnchor – Paranjoy Guha Thakurta and
Ashok Srivastava/ Neelam Sharma- Prime Minister Reaction – Live, Political Reactions, Ministers Comments, Experts from the Industry Chambers/ Stock Markets reaction’ Live inputs from correspondents
05.00-07.00 PM Post Budget Discussion continued – Section wise discussion with experts from the Political Parties and Industry
07.30-08.00 PM Budget Highlights 09.30-10.30 PM Discussion – Budget 2006 –Anchor Paranjoy Guha Thakurta and Ashok Srivastava/ Nelam Sharma-Eminent Guest Panel at the Studio. Possible Live inputs from the Finance Minister DD (PR)/GM(PR)/News Release/14.02.2006
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.
