News Broadcasting
Prasar Bharati planning programme guide
NEW DELHI: In a bid to popularise programmes being broadcast on pubcasters Doordarshan (DD) and All India Radio (AIR), Prasar Bharati Corporation is planning to come out with a programming guide.
The proposal has been okayed by the board of Prasar Bharati, an autonomous body that is entrusted with the responsibility of overseeing the functioning of DD and AIR.
According to sources in Prasar Bharati, the proposal to have a programming guide of sorts is being fine-tuned and a final format and periodicity is being executed in active consultation with the Corporation chief executive, KS Sarma.
Other pubcasters outside India are known to have programming guides that are as glitzy and detailed as they come. BBC World, for example, has a similar product highlighting special programmes with short synopses and photographs of programmes which is mailed to a select list of persons even in India, including journalists and media planners.
Private satellite channels from time to time, of course, undertake such initiatives. Zee Telefilms, for instance, had a programming guide that was distributed through cable operators directly or indirectly associated with Zee Group cable arm, Siti Cable.
The thinking in the Prasar Bharati is that apart from getting the FPC of DD and AIR published in daily newspapers, there is a need to have a product that highlights special programmes.
“At times, some very good programmes on DD and AIR go unnoticed because of lack of adequate publicity. The programming guide or a variant of it may just go on to address such inadequacies,” a senior Prasar Bharati official told indiantelevision.com.
In the past, AIR used to bring out a product in magazine format, called Akashvani, which gave details of various programmes to be broadcast on AIR, apart from containing other related information and articles.
As and when Parasar Bharati finalises the format, the guide is likely to be mailed to government offices initially before the distribution network is expanded.
However, it is not clear at the moment whether Prasar Bharati has thought of the commercial aspect of such a product.
“Because,” points out a media planner with a foreign ad agency in Delhi, “if properly marketed and distributed such a product from Prasar Bharati has the scope of attracting substantial amount of advertising from the TV industry, apart from public service messages in ad format from various government organisations and some NGOs even.”
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.
