News Broadcasting
Beethoven downloads on BBC site top one million in the UK
MUMBAI: Live performances of Beethoven’s complete symphonies have attracted 1.37 million download requests in a BBC trial in the UK which was offered as part of Radio 3’s The Beethoven Experience.
The downloads were from Radio 3 programmes featuring live performances, from Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, of Beethoven’s nine symphonies by the BBC Philharmonic conducted by Gianandrea Noseda and introduced by Radio 3 presenters Petroc Trelawny and Sarah Walker. The programmes were available free of charge and therefore not eligible for the Official UK Download or Top 40 singles charts, although the public’s enthusiasm for the programmes was evident.
BBC Radio 3 controller Roger Wright says, “This download experiment began as an added extra to our Beethoven Experience and quickly took on a life of its own. The remarkable number of downloads has already sparked a healthy debate about the place of classical music in the digital world. I am thrilled that Radio 3 has shown how wide the interest is in quality classical music and demonstrated how innovation and the use of new technology can find new audiences.”
The downloads were available for seven days after their broadcast as well as available streamed for seven days from the BBC Radio Player. The trial formed part of Radio 3’s Beethoven Experience (5-10 June 2005), in which the complete works of Beethoven were broadcast in one week. The BBC had recently announced it will be offering up to 20 programmes as podcasts and downloads, as a time-limited trial to give a more detailed picture of audiences’ appetite for downloads and to inform the development of the BBC strategy for audio downloads and on-demand content.
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.
