News Broadcasting
Pakistani-born journo takes top BBC editorial role
LONDON: Pakistani-born Abbas Nasir, a former head of the BBC’s Urdu Service, has been appointed executive editor for the Asia and the Pacific Region at BBC World Service. The Asia and the Pacific is the largest of the five operational regions within BBC World Service.
Based at Bush House in London, Nasir is responsible for the editorial quality and content of a huge range of radio and online output, covering territory from the Khyber Pass to the Pacific, taking in all South Asia, Southeast Asia, China and Australasia.
Abbas Nasir’s editorial remit includes a large number of language services on radio, three 24-hour online language sites (bbcurdu.com, bbchindi.com and bbcchinese.com) as well as the heavily used English site for South Asia.
He is responsible for BBC World Service editorial staff in overseas bureaus and for numerous broadcasting partnerships, especially with local FM radio stations. He is also the region’s editorial contact of BBC World, the BBC’s commercially funded international television news channel.
The 43-year-old started his career in journalism in Pakistan with the daily Dawn, in the early 1980s. He moved to the daily Muslim and later to the monthly Herald. He was the chief political correspondent with the Karachi-ased The News when he was asked to join the BBC’s Urdu Service in May 1994.
Soon afterwards he became the head of the service, and in October 1999 launched its Urdu site, bbcurdu.com. The site was recently voted the world’s best Urdu site by the online magazine Spider. He has also worked on the flagship English-language The World Today programme, and has been a regular contributor as an analyst on a range of BBC output.
Nasir said, “With the proliferation of the BBC’s output in different media, making sure that the BBC speaks with one voice and lives up to its famous editorial guidelines in all languages is a daunting task. But it is also an imperative if the BBC is to hold its leading position in terms of authority, balance and trust.”
BBC World Service broadcasts programmes around the world in 43 languages and is available on radio and online at bbcworldservice.com. It claims to have a global audience of 150 million listeners each week.
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.
