News Broadcasting
Cameron’s ‘Dark Angel’ premieres on Star World next week
MUMBAI: Star World will unfurl its bouquet of new shows for the month of October with the much awaited Dark Angel, the science-fiction adventure series set in the near future. The series, the television debut of academy award-winner James Cameron (director of Titanic and The Terminator) will premiere on the channel on 3 October 2002, at 6:30 pm and 10 pm.
The series are set in the year 2019 and begins by showing how the US has become a third world country in the wake of the Pulse – an electromagnetic shockwave unleashed by nuclear terrorists in 2009. The story revolves around Max, a genetically engineered soldier who is on the run from her creators and constantly in search of her past. A revved-up girl trying to make a run-down world a better place, she eventually joins forces with the idealistic cyber-journalist .
Max is being played by Hollywood actress Jessica Alba , a recipient of the 2001 TV Guide Awards’ Breakout Star of the Year and 2001 Saturn Awards’ Best Actress on Television. She plays the role of a genetically enhanced human prototype with attitude to spare. She is aided in her quest — both to avoid capture and to reunite with her surviving “siblings” — by Logan Cale (Michael Weatherly), an idealistic cyber-journalist, who battles corruption and the oppressive establishment in this futuristic landscape.
Dark Angel also stars John Savage as Lydecker, the military operative hunting Max and her “siblings” through this future world.
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.
