News Broadcasting
13 years on, Disney enjoys ‘Winnieng’ feeling
MUMBAI: Number 13 seems lucky for Walt Disney Co. A 13-year legal battle that the Little Big Mouse has been fighting to protect its proprietership over millions of dollars in merchandising rights for the much loved Winnie the Pooh character has been decided in its favour.
A Los Angeles judge ruled in Disney’s favour on Monday, 30 March, after finding that “the accusers systematically stole and altered Disney documents to gain advantage at the trial”.
The ruling by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charles McCoy Jr., following a weeklong hearing on Disney’s so-called “trash motion” to dismiss the case brought by Stephen Slesinger Inc., said that that the Pooh rights-owner had “tampered with the administration of justice” by unlawfully obtaining Disney documents in the case.
The dispute, ongoing since 1991, centered around allegations that Disney had avoided paying royalties to the heirs of Stephen Slesinger by not reporting sales of Pooh merchandise to foreign licensees for years and not paying on other items allegedly covered by their licensing agreement as per various media reports.
Stephen Slesinger purchased the rights from Pooh creator AA Milne in 1929. His widow had licensed the rights to Walt Disney Jr in 1969. The allegation that it backed out of a royalty agreement with the Slesingers was denied by Disney and also stated that losing the case could cost the company hundreds of millions of dollars.
$ 6 million is spawned in revenue by Winnie the Pooh for Disney every year, which is more than any other character the company markets.
In February, Disney asked Judge Charles McCoy of the California Superior Court’s Complex Litigation Court to throw out the case against it, alleging the Slesingers stole and doctored Disney documents.
The Slesingers denied stealing the documents but did say that they obtained the documents from Disney’s “publicly accessible” trash containers.
Bret Fausett, an attorney for Stephen Slesinger Inc. said that the family will file an appeal, saying the evidence presented in the case does not support the judge’s decision, according to media reports.
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.
