News Broadcasting
News channels under lockdown burden
MUMBAI: The extension of nation-wide lockdown has affected the business of news broadcasters which are burdened with increased operating costs and less advertisement revenues.
The government has put the news channels under the essential services category. Going forward, the news channels will face the daunting task of sustaining operations with little or reduced ad revenue. The operating costs are the expenses for the maintenance and administration of business on a day-to-day basis.
Asianet News Network chief operating officer Abhinav Khare is of the view that the extension of lockdown may impact the news channels’ business adversely. “From 30-45 days earlier, the network now is running on exceptional 90-day working capital due to this unprecedented virus situation.”
“Revenue collection has become a massive issue for news channels and they are likely to face cash crunch issues sooner or later”, Khare says. “The advertisers are not able to pay news broadcasters immediately as their businesses are not operational due to the lockdown.”
The lockdown, in a way, has come as a blessing in disguise for the news channels as they have been able to cut down on the operating costs of news channels. “Reporters don’t have to go out for reporting like they used to do before; they do stories digitally. Guests are joining shows virtually. Transport costs have also come down as employees have been asked to work from home,” a source from a leading Hindi news channel says.
“Operating costs are currently manageable and measures to curb it will only be decided once this extended lockdown ends,” says Mathrubhumi News chief executive officer Mohan Nair. “With Kerala likely to be re-opened partially from Monday, there are chances that the situation may get back to normal.”
Nair believes that it would be too early to predict anything about the future course of action with respect to the network’s business. “This is indeed true that we are unable to get advertisers on board, but expect that operating costs would normalise with the situation returning to normal.”
Concerned about high operating costs amid the lockdown, News Broadcasters Association president Rajat Sharma has written to the central government either to reduce, remove or bring the goods and services tax in line with the print media industry. GST on advertising for the broadcasting industry is at 18 per cent and for print media it is at five per cent.
ABP News Network chief executive officer Avinash Pandey says: “In terms of COVID-19-related programming, we have taken numerous initiatives and introduced innovative line-ups on all our news channels. These specially curated shows have garnered tremendous viewership and we have roped in sponsors for our channels.”
Pandey, however, indicated that there won’t be any retrenchment or salary cut in order to reduce the operating costs. He believes that once the crisis is over, the network will be able to come back stronger with its strong content and programming line-up.
Brand and agency experts believe that despite high viewership, news channels are unable to attract maximum advertisers due to the substantial reduction in overall ad spend. They have been re-working their advertising strategy due to the COVID-19 situation.
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.
