News Broadcasting
65 mn Americans tune into Bush Kerry debate
MUMBAI: Last week’s first presidential debate for the upcoming US elections turned out to be a ratings bonanza for the US broadcast networks. Over 65 million viewers watched Thursday’s presidential debate.
In India the event aired live on CNN and BBC early Friday morning.
Reports indicate that the debate had 16 million more viewers than the first debate between Bush and Gore four years ago.
Data from Nielsen Media Research indicated that 62.5 million people tuned into the 90-minute debate on the major networks. One must keep in mind the fact that this figure did not include viewers of C-Span or public TV. When you include this the figure exceeds 65 million.
NBC, with 17.2 million viewers, topped the seven networks that aired the 90-minute debate, Nielsen said that 3.5 million tuned to CBS. Meanwhile 11.5 million viewers watched Disney’s ABC. Fox’s coverage was seen by 5.2 million. Fox News Channel was seen by a total of 9,561,000
CNN was seen by 4.4 million (versus 3.3 million in 2000) and MSNBC by 1.2 million (versus one million), according to Nielsen.
What was interesting is that the networks ignored Bush and Kerry campaign wishes that they not air reaction shots and President Bush’s occasionally peeved expression showed why they couldn’t resist.
C-Span’s chairman and CEO Brian Lamb was quoted in an AP report saying, “If you were in the audience and in the room, you got to see the reactions. Why shouldn’t the public?”
The second presidential debate is scheduled for 8 October. Fox will not televise that debate because of baseball playoffs.
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.
