News Broadcasting
C’AS and when it happens
MUMBAI:Ultimately, it was independent media auditor Meenakshi Madhvani from the audience who stole the show with her well timed quip at the CNBC TV18 organised panel discussions on ‘That’s Entertainment’ at the J W Marriott last evening.
While panelists including I&B secretary Pawan Chopra, Star India COO Sameer Nair and SET Discovery president Shantonu Aditya debated the benefits of and choices available to the consumer thanks to CAS, DTH and broadband, Madhvani crisply pointed out that while all the vacillating policies on conditional access thus far had been initiated in the name of the consumer, it was the consumer who would ultimately have the say in accepting either technology. “Remember, the remote is finally in the hands of the consumer, for whose eyeballs the entire fight is about,” she reminded the panelists, to applause from an audience comprising television and advertising professionals.
In an otherwise bland discussion, in which incisive anchor Anuradha Sengupta could get only optimistic and stoic responses from Aditya and Nair on the return of conditional access, Hathway Cable and Datacom CEO K Jayaraman provided the only vociferous note. “With CAS in indefinite abeyance and DTH already rolled out, we are facing a stiff competition, particularly in SEC A and B homes,” he pointed out. “With CAS continuing to be in limbo, all we will be left with will be SEC C and lower down,” he complained.
While the broadcasters (Zee Turner president Sunil Khanna along with Aditya and Nair) sounded unanimous that while the need for addressability continues, CAS was not packaged the way it should have been, Aditya said he was more bullish on broadband, hinting that this lternative platform was probably set to take off in the next couple of weeks.
Chopra himself, despite being cornered by questions probing the sagacity of first announcing and then withdrawing CAS, said that eventually multiple distribution platforms would become available in the country and that, the postponement was CAS was no loss of image for the ministry. “CAS is an integral part of the DTH model,” he said, citing examples of other countries, and maintaining that Prasar Bharati’s free to air DTH would also be a part of the spectrum.
Aditya foresaw at least 30 to 40 special interest channels entering the country, once CAS comes in, as also the entry of more multinational companies into the ground distribution business with addressability getting implemented in India..
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.
