TV Today Q1 profit rises despite modest revenue growth

MUMBAI: The headlines weren’t just on the screen, they were in the balance sheet too. TV Today Network turned the volume down on costs and the volume up on profits, proving that sharper margins can sometimes make more noise than bigger revenues.

TV Today Network kicked off FY27 with stronger profitability, reporting improved earnings despite a modest sequential decline in revenue, as lower operating costs and a sharp recovery in its television business boosted margins during the quarter ended 30 June 2026.

The company posted Rs 206.22 crore in revenue from its continuing television and other media operations, up 4.6 per cent year-on-year from Rs 197.19 crore in Q1 FY26, although it declined 3.4 per cent sequentially from Rs 213.47 crore in the March quarter.

Including its discontinued radio operations, total revenue stood at Rs 209.01 crore, compared with Rs 216.25 crore in the previous quarter and Rs 198.44 crore in the corresponding period last year.

TV Today, which owns news brands including Aaj Tak, India Today Television and Good News Today, continued to generate the bulk of its business from television and digital media, while radio broadcasting remained classified as a discontinued operation.

The standout story, however, was profitability.

Profit before tax from continuing operations increased to Rs 13.74 crore, compared with Rs 12.31 crore in the preceding quarter and Rs 10 crore a year earlier.

Including discontinued operations, net profit climbed to Rs 10.26 crore, registering a 13.7 per cent sequential increase from Rs 9.02 crore and a robust 39.6 per cent jump over Rs 7.35 crore reported in the year-ago quarter.

The earnings improvement came even as revenue softened sequentially, indicating stronger operational efficiency during the period.

Television and other media segment results more than doubled to Rs 12.88 crore, up from Rs 4.94 crore in Q4 FY26 and more than four times higher than the Rs 2.91 crore recorded in the corresponding quarter last year.

The margin expansion was aided by tighter cost management. Total expenses declined to Rs 198.92 crore from Rs 217.44 crore in the previous quarter, though they remained marginally above Rs 197.83 crore reported a year earlier.

Employee benefit expenses edged up to Rs 88.79 crore from Rs 87.50 crore, while other expenses fell significantly to Rs 76.19 crore, compared with Rs 87 crore in the March quarter, helping offset the impact of lower sequential revenue.

The quarter suggests that while revenue growth remained measured, TV Today entered the new financial year with stronger cost discipline and healthier operating leverage, allowing profitability to outpace topline growth.