News Broadcasting
MTV network India setting up a new team
MUMBAI: MTV Networks India has announced a line up of new appointments and promoted some senior executives to bolster its team.
Ranjan Narayan has joined as MTV Networks India finance team head while Sonia Chowdhry is going to head Nick programming. Sameer Mazgaonkar will head Nick all India ad sales.
MTV Networks’ vice presidents, Cyrus Oshidar (content & creative) and Sanjev Hiremath (licensing & merchandising), are promoted as senior vice presidents. Sales team head south Vijay Subramaniam is elevated as group account director, MTV – ad sales, west and south.
Narayan, who will head the finance function at MTV Network is a former Star News executive. Armed with a decade- long experience in all aspects of finance and accounting, Narayan was a part of the senior management team that launched Star News, says a company release.
Chowdhry joins the network after a stint with BBC World Service Trust. With over ten years of experience in media and programming, Chowdhry’s specific responsibility will be to create new local content for Nick, adds the release.
Mazgaonkar, former B4U head of sales, will take charge of Nick’s all India ad sales, as group account director. His previous experience includes stints with Cartoon Network and ESPN, among others.
While Oshidar is promoted as senior vice president, creative and content, Hiremath is elevated as senior vice president, network development, South Asia (licensing and merchandising).
MTV sales team South head, Subramaniam will be relocating to Mumbai as group account director, MTV – ad sales, West and South.
Announcing the new developments, MTV Networks India, managing director, Alex Kuruvilla said, “The backbone of MTV has always been it’s people. We have hired the best in the business and have promoted key people who have helped guide MTV to the number I position it enjoys today.”
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.
