News Broadcasting
SCM Microsystems Helps Secure Chinese Digital TV Broadcasts
Californian company SCM Microsystems, a leading provider of solutions for the Digital World, will collaborate with broadcast encryption provider Tsinghua Tongfang. The companies will develop and supply Conditional Access Modules (CAMs) based on the Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) which is the common Interface standard for the Chinese digital cable television market.
Tsinghua Tongfang sees the relationship as giving it a leg up over the local competitors and extend its reach beyond China. Tsinghua Tongfang was founded in 1997. It uses the talent and technological advantages of Tsinghua University by incubating vast multitudes of high-tech products in its R&D Center.
SCM realises that with over 270 million households, China represents the world’s largest potential market for digital broadcasting and cable television. SCM Microsystems operates in the areas of Digital TV, Digital Video, PC Security and Digital Media Transfer. SCM’s advanced silicon solutions, hardware and software enable secure exchange of electronic information for applications such as broadband content delivery by providing controlled access points to platforms such as PCs, digital cameras and digital television set-top boxes. SCM’s Conditional Access Module provides individual provincial TV stations the option and flexibility to select the conditional access system they prefer, while ensuring compliance with China’s central government’s broadcast regulations. SCM modules will be part of Tsinghua Tongfang’s conditional access encryption solution for digital broadcast services. Television operators throughout China will be able to use them. The module offer security from illegal copying or unauthorised access to broadcast content.
SCM ‘s hardware platform and software development kit will enable Tsinghua Tongfang to integrate its conditional access broadcast encryption system into a removable module. This will be compatible with any open set top box. Open set-top boxes secure broadcast signals through the conditional access module, which plugs easily into a standards based Common Interface slot.
Consumers can easily switch from one content provider to another using only exchange modules without having to go through the hassle of adding another set-top box.
Tsinghua Tongfang was selected by China’s State Administration of Radio, Film and Television to be one opf the suppliers of the official conditional access systems. These will be deployed in the forthcoming national digital cable TV network. Digital cable TV broadcasts will be initiated next year.
The new digital network will enable the delivery of more programs and value-added services between 30 provinces and major cities across China. The network envisages a subscriber subscriber base of 150 million by 2005 which will expand to 200 million by 2010.
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.
