News Broadcasting
Suvarna News rebrands as Asianet Suvarna News
NEW DELHI: Leading Karnataka news channel Suvarna News has rebranded itself as Asianet Suvarna News.
With its tagline ‘Straight, Bold and Relentless’, the rebranded channel, with a slew of new programs, aims to build further gains in the fiercely fought leadership race in the Kannada news broadcasting industry.
Asianet News Media & Entertainment Pvt Ltd CEO Abhinav Khare said, “Suvarna News has rapidly emerged as a strong player in the region and established its leadership in the news broadcasting space. The brand has been pivotal in the state, empowering the citizens through insightful and impactful reporting. With the addition of Asianet News in its identity, Asianet Suvarna News will derive better recall, leverage Asianet News Network’s national advantage, and more importantly, it will establish stronger credibility that is unmatched in the region.”
Asianet Suvarna News editor-in-chief Ravi Hegde said, “The new identity has triggered an exciting, revamped look and feel along with introduction of new shows during the prime time which will be a game changer in the Karnataka News genre. This is not a one-day rebrand excitement for us. We will pay the same attention to detail serious journalism requires. In a copy-cat news media market we will differentiate ourselves with credible, verified visual presentation true to our tagline Straight-Bold-Relentless.”
Asianet News Media and Entertainment Pvt Ltd executive chairman Rajesh Kalra pointed at the lack of programming differentiators across the news broadcasting business and said, “We are witnessing a shift in consumer behaviour over the recent past. It is important for news broadcasters to be sensitive to this shift. With shrinking attention span and ever evolving viewership behaviour, presenting well differentiated verified content will be the key to better engagement. Asianet Suvarna News is doing exactly that and will continue to deliver on the back of its well-researched content strategy."
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.
