News Broadcasting
DD to use Chitrahaar for literacy project from 14 August
MUMBAI: National broadcaster Doordarshan is taking its mantle of public broadcaster seriously once again, it would seem. Beginning 14 August, Chitrahaar on DD1 will no longer be just an entertainment show. DD has tied up with the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, to launch an ambitious project under a grant won in the Development Marketplace 2002 (World Bank’s global innovation competition).
The longest running film-based programme in the history of television, especially popular in villages, Chitrahaar is being transformed from staple entertainment to edutainment that is “more” entertaining through the use of Same Language Subtitling (SLS). The potentially major by-product will be the improvement in the literacy skill levels of millions of people.
The half hour show that airs every Wednesday will now aim to herald a revolution in literacy, by simply subtitling the lyrics of the existing songs-based programming on TV in the same language as the audio. In SLS, the lyrics of Hindi songs appear in Hindi, Tamil songs in Tamil, and so on in any language. The synchronisation of audio and text is created through colour changes in the subtitles, identifying every word as it is being sung. Thus, SLS strengthens grapheme-phoneme associations which are weak people whose literacy levels are very rudimentary.
According to project officials, the use of SLS for literacy was first proposed six years ago and on-going research since then, conducted in three separate experiments at the level of the classroom, village (on local cable) and state (in Gujarat on DDK Ahmedabad) have been consistent in finding that reading ability improves steadily as a result of viewing film and folk song based content with the addition of SLS. What is perhaps more relevant to network acceptance of the idea is that surveys have found that over 99 per cent of viewers, semi-literate and literate alike, actually prefer song programming with SLS than without.
Viewers, say officials, have been video-taped in villages and slums trying to sing along through lip-synching. SLS enables viewers to know the song lyrics, ‘hear’ the words better (useful not just for the hearing but also the hearing challenged or deaf), and write down the lyrics. SLS will integrate everyday reading/writing transactions into the lives of 500 million TV viewers in India at a cost of 3 paise per person per year, the project claims.
SLS was awarded the Best Social Innovation for the year 2000 in the Education category for the project, Subtitling TV Songs for Mass Literacy, awarded by The Institute for Social Inventions, London. The concept was developed and researched at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA), in the Ravi J. Matthai Center for Educational Innovation (RJMCEI).
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.
