News Broadcasting
Aaj Tak crosses the 50 mn subscribers mark on YouTube; Susan Wojcicki offers congratulatory wishes
Mumbai: YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki did not hold back while tweeting in praise of Hindi news channel, Aaj Tak, for crossing 50 million subscribers on the video-sharing platform.
She put it across as an ‘incredible milestone’ for the channel and its team.
Her tweet read, “50M subscribers – what an incredible milestone for you and the news team, @aajtak!”, which also had a celebratory video of the news channel.
50M subscribers – what an incredible milestone for you and the news team, @aajtak! https://t.co/1u7N8Ytfh1
— Susan Wojcicki (@SusanWojcicki) February 1, 2023
“Thank you so much, YouTube! This is just amazing. The team is already planning its way to 100 million so YouTube had better start designing the next button,” Purie mentioned to Anand, with elation. “Trust has always been the foundation for audience engagement at AajTak. It’s no different with our YouTube channel, but on a much wider scale with hundreds of videos getting uploaded every day. We place equal emphasis on having new audiences discover our channel while ensuring loyal viewers revisit, and invest in figuring out what works on YouTube – whether this is a nuanced understanding of thumbnails or producing hero content frequently.”
Towards the early part of the year, Aaj Tak became the first news channel globally to cross 50 million subscribers. India Today Group vice-chairperson Kalli Purie caught up with YouTube managing director of APAC Gautam Anand in Singapore to venerate the exceptional feat.
In 2009, Aaj Tak flagged off its digital journey by launching its YouTube channel; it started streaming live news on YouTube for the first time in 2017. The admiration gained by the channel consequently led to its Diamond play button from YouTube in 2019 for crossing 10 million subscribers. Cut to now, three years later, Aaj Tak has become the first news channel to reach 50 million subscribers on YouTube.
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.
