News Broadcasting
Varma Corp inks deal with MTV to promote movies
MUMBAI: What does every good movie need to succeed? Promotion blitz of course!
Latest, Varma Corporation has signed an exclusive deal with MTV to promote all the films released by the production house in 2004.
The music channel is all set to provide a 360 degree marketing spin to the latest venture Ab Tak Chhappan. The channel will be promoting the movie, to-be-released on 27 February, across all spheres of MTV – on-air, off-air and on-line.
Special vignettes, movie specials, t?te-?-t?tes with the cast and crew, in-show plugs, movie interstitial, in-show plugs, contests, and in-store promotions are planned as a countdown to the movie release, says a company release.
Says MTV Networks India vice president and GM, creative and content, Cyrus Oshidar, “We’ve always admired Ram Gopal Varma’s style of filmmaking, which is the most contemporary and cutting edge representation of Indian cinema. As a channel with similar values, an association between MTV and Varma Corporation Ltd. is only natural. Ab tak hua hai AB Tak Chhappan… aagey aagey dekho hota hai kya!”
While Varma Corporation founder Ram Gopal Varma offered, “MTV is the only channel I, all at The Factory and anyone who’s in with the times, watch. Need I say more?!?”
AB Tak Chhappan stars Nana Patekar and Revati. Set in the teeming metropolis of Mumbai, this Shimit Amin debut directorial venture revolves around encounter killings; the protagonist – a cop who has killed 56 people so far.
MTV has launched a vignette in news format AB Tak News – Special Report, which showcases the questions and situations surrounding encounter killings. In this special news vignette, inter-cuts to the actual film will be aired to make viewers to sit up and listen. The channel will also be publishing AB Tak Times, a crime beat news tabloid on encounter killings that will be made available across the newspaper vendors.
The channel will be dedicating a special episode of MTV Big Picture to AB Tak Chhappan. The channel has even constructed special jail-like sets for the episode. Besides that, the channel will grill Ram Gopal Varma, Nana Patekar and other cast and crew members on the Hot seat all month long. A special vignette Guilty or not guilty?, to be aired on 26 February at 8.00 pm, has a VJ posing as a news anchor and interrogating and probing the making of the film, and presenting behind the scene situations.
Apart from the special content, the channel will also be airing a nonstop music block AB Tak RGV Festival to present the best of RGV for an hour daily at prime time. While all the shows popular MTV shows, Non Stop Hits and Housefull will highlight the soundtrack from the film while sharing interesting trivia and masala on RGV films, says the release.
While that apart, MTV has also tied up with coffee chain Barista. Every 56th customer will get a free coffee shot along with movie tickets. As for the online promotions, mtvindia.com has designed contests and games exclusively on AB Tak Chhappan.
Besides AB Tak Chhappan, the channel will also be promoting movies like Murder at 2, Vishnu Prasad Gaayab Ho Gaya, Naach, James, D, Boo! Darna Zaroori Hai and Vaastu Shastra. Whew!
All in all it seems interesting proposition as both MTV and Ram Gopal Varma have a quirky style. Interestingly, in Varma productions last successful release Darna Mana Hai, MTV’s flagship show Bakra was the running element in one of the stories. Also the wry humour and the in-your-face style was so much akin to MTV style.
Will such heavy duty promotions trickle in great results or will Bakra be on the Factory products. Time will tell.
News Broadcasting
Network18 posts Rs 1,955 crore revenue, narrows FY26 losses
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.
