News Broadcasting
MAK to launch soon; but will the viewer bite?
MAK TV, so far shrouded in secrecy and some spicy speculation, will fill the small screens very soon. The 31 December deadline that was being talked about, has come and gone, but the veils will be taken off anytime now, it is learnt.
In a crowded marketplace with umpteen channels in every possible genre elbowing each other for space, MAK TV better have some strong content ready in its six-channel offering. Apart from a music channel, Style – a fashion channel and Prime – a regular Hindi entertainment channel, there are three regional channels. While the Telugu and the Bangla channels are in for some stiff competition (the strongest coming from the ETV stable), a combined Sindhi-Gujarati channel may well hit it off with audiences due to its novel positioning.
The entire management team of MAK (Manoranjan, Aur Kya), headed by CEO Karan Saluja, has been comfortably housed in office space bought at the western suburb of Andheri in Mumbai. Reports indicate an initial investment of Rs 700 million has been made by unnamed promoters.
Several key personnel from rival channels have been inducted to beef up the team. There are four directors in Hitesh Sabharwal, former distribution head of Sony Entertainment Television, Satish Menon, former head of Zee News, Prashant Sanwal, former V-P, SET MAX and Amit Ray, executive VP Mudra Communications. Ray however, is not leaving Mudra but will function in an advisory capacity on the board.
Rupa Das, former programming V-P, Sony and Vaishali Sharma (ex-Sony again) in marketing are also on the team.
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.
