News Broadcasting
150 bollywood stars to adorn Zee Cine awards
MUMBAI: When they say star-studded affair, do they mean it! Zee will be playing host to 150 Bollywood stars at its Zee Cine Awards ’04.
Film actors including Abhishek Bachchan, Ajay Devgan and Kajol, Akshay Kumar and Twinkle Khanna, John Abraham, Shammi Kapoor, Dev Anand, Dharmendra, Manisha Koirala, Feroz Khan, Fardeen Khan, Jeetendra, Vivek Oberoi, Shilpa Shetty, Juhi Chawla, Jackie Shroff, Kareena Kapoor and Celina Jaitley will be attending the function.
Not only will these celebrities will be hosted at The Hyatt in Dubai, the sponsors and the Zee Cine Management team will be presenting them with lavish gifts and prizes like gold jewelry and cars, says a company release.
Touted as the most democratic award, Zee Cine Awards has enabled 20,00,000 fans across the globe to get a chance to vote for their favourite artist.
A special chartered plane, has been arranged to transport all the performers and celebrities from Mumbai to Dubai. The star performers of the evening include Shahrukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Preity Zinta and Lara Dutta. Besides a chance to witness Hrithik Roshan’s debut performance in Dubai, the audiences will also be treated to Shekhar Suman and Pakistan’s Omar Sharif’s star comic act.
An estimated figure of 6000 is expected to be present at the event, 1000 of which will be flown from India. The release adds that people all over the world, including from Pakistan would be coming down to Dubai for the event.
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.
