News Broadcasting
BARC India suspends three errant channels’ review
MUMBAI: Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), the only television audience measurement body in India, has temporarily suspended the review of viewership of three news channels.
An industry source confirmed the news to Indiantelevision.com that BARC has communicated to all the broadcasters that ratings for India News, TV9 Telegu and V6 News have been suspended owing to suspected mala fide practices. These news channels will not be seen in latest ratings as well.
BARC India neither confirmed nor denied the information when Indiantelevision.com got in touch with the ratings agency.
The weekly review of the three channels has been suspended for four weeks, and their review will not be published from the current BARC Week 46 to BARC Week 49.
Contacted by Indiantelevision.com on the BARC India notice, V6 News CEO Ravi Ankam communicated through chief technical officer Kishore Kumar, “We ourselves are shocked at this. I’m sure there has been a mistake and we are talking about this with the BARC management. V6 News is known for its uniqueness in responsible journalism and is popular among the masses. V6 management would never depend on such unnecessary manipulation.”
Bangalore-based TV 9 head of marketing (who is in-charge of the media department) Clifford Pereira chose not to receive calls from Indiantelevision.com. (BARC India’s ratings in Week-38 reiterated the undisputed dominance of Ravi Prakash’s TV 9 in Telugu news channel segment with 210.5 Gross Rating Point. )
India News CEO Varun Kohli, via an email response, said, “We are shocked to hear this and are seized of the decision taken by BARC. We are trying to talk to all the stakeholders, including BARC, to resolve the matter and address any misgivings. We are confident that the matter will be sorted out soon. We are a credible network in the broadcasting business for the last eight years and have shown consistent growth for the last five years in TAM and BARC ratings. We believe in the transparency of the system and intend getting to the bottom of the matter and exploring all options available to us.”
ITV Media Network managing director Kartikeya Sharma chose not to speak on this issue. Someone else picked up his mobile phone when Indiantelevision.com dialled him, excused himself, and never got back when asked to react to the development related to BARC.
It may be recalled that, in October, BARC India and Kerala TV Federation (KTF) had filed a joint police complaint with the director-general of Kerala Police after receiving complaints regarding attempts to retrieve addresses of BARC India panel homes and alleged efforts made to influence viewing trends.
The basis of the police complaint was BARC India vigilance team’s collation of conclusive evidence of more than one effort to tamper with BARC’s audience measurement system in favour of a couple of channels. Preliminary scrutiny by on-ground vigilance team confirmed that attempts were made by some individuals to not only find out addresses of BARC India panel homes but also to incentivise them and influence their viewership patterns.
BARC’s predecessor TAM India too had been plagued with allegations of such manipulations. In the late 1990s and early 2000s even a list of TAM India meter homes were circulated to media houses hinting that the measurement was not foolproof.
Learning from such lapses, BARC during its formative stages, undertook measures such as resorting to water-marking technology to plug loopholes.
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.
