News Broadcasting
Reddy seeks media’s help in eradicating poverty
NEW DELHI: The Union minister for information and broadcasting and culture S Jaipal Reddy today said that the media representatives of SAARC countries should work towards creating an atmosphere of goodwill in the region.
Inaugurating the Second conference of editors and working journalists of SAARC countries here today, he said the region needs to work towards a common economic zone for which the regional media will have to play role of ‘ambassador of goodwill’.
According to Reddy, despite prolonged prevalence of poverty, countries in the region continue to be dominated by the historical baggage of wrong priorities and mindset. The ongoing information revolution has opened immense opportunities, which need to be collectively tapped to aggressively work towards routing out poverty from the region.
He said the media should rise above narrow national identities and play the role of trendsetter.
As a first step in this direction, the minister said, SAARC should work towards facilitating free movement of journalists in the region that can work as a catalyst towards changing the political mindset and drive the region towards a collective effort in that eradicating poverty and creating atmosphere for common economic zone.
Secretary in the I&B ministry Navin B Chawla said in the era of breath-taking technological advances in the media scene, the conference would help further strengthen the process of mutual dependence and co-operation.
It can work towards evolving a common strategy to draw attention towards the common problems of the region.
The SAARC secretariat representative Shri Pradhumna Shah drew the attention towards the recommendations of the SAARC Information Ministers Conference. He said the SAARC Information Centre is being set up in Nepal, which would facilitate exchange of information among the member countries.
The new chairperson of the conference, Shakuntala Mahawal, Principal Information Officer, Indian government, said the forum would help in expanding the horizons of understanding and issues pertaining to media of the south Asian region.
Agenda for the two-day conference includes country presentations on current situation of print and electronic media in member countries, consideration of directives from the third meeting of SAARC, including proposal to set up SAARC-recognised regional media forum and discussion paper by Bangladesh for setting up of a SAARC Media Development Fund.
The conference will also work towards identifying points relating to print media for evolving a SAARC Common position for presentation at the World Summit on the Information Society scheduled in Tunis in December next year.
The conference will also provide inputs for the revised plan of action on information and media as it is being felt that many items of the action plan of 1998 have become outdated due to innovative developments in the field of information technology.
The heads of TV and radio organisations at their third meeting held in Thimpu in April 2004 had identified some areas for inclusion in the revised plan.
These include development of SAARC media training academy to carry out training programmes/courses for human resource development in ICT sector, encourage member countries for e-government and e-strategies and also work towards establishment of gradual digitised technology for TV and Radio. A similar action programme for print media is also to be worked out by the conference.
Delegations from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are attending the two-day conference. Mahawal leads the Indian delegation.
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.
