News Broadcasting
Times’ Pradeep Guha appointed Zee Telefilms CEO
MUMBAI: It’s now official. Just over a month after indiantelevision.com broke the news of what is arguably the most significant executive hiring in the industry in 2004, comes the confirmation. That the Times Group’s advertising head honcho and president Pradeep Guha is joining Zee Telefilms as its new chief executive. Subhash Chandra’s network today made the official announcement.
As already reported on indiantelevision.com, Guha, who was president, Bennett Coleman & Co Ltd (which counts The Times of India and Economic Times as its key publications), officially takes charge as Zee Telefilms CEO in January 2005. Guha tells indiantelevision.com that he will start work at Zee any time between the third week and fourth week of January.
Announcing the appointment, Chandra said, We are happy to announce the appointment of an accomplished professional like Pradeep as the CEO of Zee Telefilms Ltd. Our numerous channels spanning several languages and genres will be the perfect foil to his skills as a media and entertainment expert.
Queried as to his immediate agenda, Guha said, “It is rather premature to talk about immediate agendas but my broad mandate is to revive the glory days of Zee.” On the question of whether his work experience having been solely in the print medium thus far would be seen as a handicap, Guha had this to say, “I believe there are certain nuances of what I have learnt in my career in print that are replicable in the electronic media as well. In any case, very few of the people manning leadership positions in the electronic media today built their careers solely in television.”
Guha started and built his career in the Times Group over a period spanning three decades. Guha, who lead the sales & marketing function of the Times Group, also spearheaded the Page 3 culture in India with the launch of Bombay Times. To his credit also lies the re-engineering of key brands like The Times of India, Filmfare and Femina. Two events that came to be associated with Guha and had his imprint written all over them were the Filmfare Awards and the Femina Miss India contests. Ample proof of this is the proliferation of international titleholders that India spawned under Guhas steerage of these events, viz. two Miss Universes and four Miss Worlds. Further, in his personal capacity he has launched a film production company, which produced the critically acclaimed film, Fiza.
Guha holds key positions in a number of industry bodies like Indian Newspaper Society, National Readership Studies Council, Advertising Council of India, Advertising Club Bombay, among others. Recently he brought all his diverse skills together to helm Asias largest biennial advertising Congress, Ad Asia 2003 that was held in Jaipur, India.
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.
