News Broadcasting
ABC News lands exclusive Martha Stewart interview
LOS ANGLES: Domestic diva Martha Stewart has described her fears in an exclusive interview with ABCNews’ Barbara Walters. The wide-ranging interview addresses the controversy around Stewart as she prepares to go to trial and will air on ABCNews’ 20/20 in early November.
Martha Stewart talks with ABCNews’ Barbara Walters (Pic courtesy: www.abcnews.go.com)In her only interview since being indicted for her sale of ImClone stock, and before going to trial in January 2004, Stewart tells Walters, “Who wouldn’t be scared? Of course I’m scared. The last place I would ever want to go is prison. And I don’t think I will be going to prison, though.” However ABC News did not make a transcript of Walters’ interview but released only one quote from her remarks.
Stewart and broker Peter Bacanovic were charged in a nine-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury. The Securities and Exchange Commission also filed a civil securities fraud lawsuit against the pair, accusing them of illegal insider trading.
The lifestyles maven had been under investigation for selling almost 4,000 shares of ImClone in December 2001, shortly before the Food and Drug Administration rejected the company’s application for approval of a colon cancer drug. The FDA rejection sent ImClone’s stock plummeting.
Criminal charges against Stewart include making false statements, and obstruction of justice. Charges against Bacanovic include perjury and obstruction, according to a statement from the US attorney’s office in Manhattan. Stewart has not been charged with perjury.
Martha Stewart and her former stockbroker pleaded not guilty on 4 June 2003, to the charges stemming from her sale of the stock. Stewart stepped down as CEO of her company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc., which publishes her magazine and a line of home products for the Kmart retail chain, in June, but remains on the board.
The Stewart segment is touted as the first broadcast TV interview she has granted since her June indictment on obstruction of justice charges and the only one she plans to give before she goes on trial in January. She has denied any wrongdoing.
Stewart is a close friend of former ImClone chief executive Sam Waksal, who was sentenced in June to 87 months in prison for tax evasion and his role in the insider trading case.
Last month, ABC scored another journalistic coup by landing the first prime-time network interview with Jessica Lynch, the former Army private who was taken prisoner, badly wounded and later rescued during the US war in Iraq. That interview, with Diane Sawyer, is slated to air on 11 November.
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.
