News Broadcasting
ABU Prizes 2004 TV finalists announced
MUMBAI: A five-member pre-selection jury for the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) Prizes 2004 competition has announced the finalists in four TV categories and the nominees for a new Special Jury Award introduced this year.
A total of 88 television entries from 36 organisations were screened over a three-day pre-selection process in the second week of August in Kuala Lumpur.
Twenty-five entries will compete at the final round of judging in the Drama, Entertainment, Children and Youth and News and Documentary categories, while five programmes will vie for the new Special Jury Award.
Entries for the Sports (TV) category will be judged by a separate jury by correspondence.
The pre-selection jury, chaired by Dr Nawiyah Che Lah of RTM-Malaysia, comprised Jun Ogawa of TBS-Japan, Arman Karabayev of Khabar Agency-Kazakhstan, Kim Kyung Hee of KBS-Rep. of Korea and Erol Eldem of TRT-Turkey.
A total of 163 television and radio entries from 52 organisations were submitted for this year’s competition – an increase of almost 50 per cent over last year’s submissions. The encouraging figures are seen as a reflection of the ABU members’ growing interest in this international competition.
“I am delighted and impressed to see this improvement in the ABU prizes. The number of entries is much higher than last year’s, and the quality of the programmes has risen noticeably, especially for Drama and News and Documentary,” said Dr Nawiyah Che Lah, who has served as jury member for six ABU Prize competitions.
The final judging for the ABU Prizes 2004 (Radio and TV) will be held on 20-21September, followed by the award ceremony on 25 September in Almaty, Kazakhstan, in conjunction with the 41st ABU general assembly.
The TV finalists for the ABU Prizes 2004 are:
Drama (6 programmes)
1Blade Heart (TVB-Hong Kong)
2 Bunshiro and Fuku – Episode 2: Partings (NHK-Japan)
3 Waiting for the First Train (KBS-Rep. of Korea)
4 Separation (SBS-Rep. of Korea)
5 The Insiders Guide to Happiness – Episode 6 (TVNZ-New Zealand)
6 A Bird Flew from the Nest (TRT-Turkey)
Entertainment (5 programmes)
1 The Fountain of Trivia (Fuji TV-Japan)
2 Can You Speak English Special – Samurai English (NHK-Japan)
3 Korea, Korea – Meet The Pyongyang (EBS-Rep. of Korea)
4 Love House (MBC-Rep. of Korea)
5 Explorace – The Extreme Journey (TV3-Malaysia)
Children and Youth (7 programmes)
1 Tom & the Slice of Bread with Strawberry Jam & Honey (ARD/SWR-Germany)
2 Preschool – Learn to Fly – Runaway Ice Cream (RTHK-Hong Kong)
3 A Rebel at His Alma Mater (NAB/HBC-Japan)
4 Electricity (KA-Kazakhstan)
5 Science Battle (EBS-Rep. of Korea)
6 My Brother (KBS-Rep. of Korea)
7 The Apple Tree Scholarship (MBC-Rep. of Korea)
News and Documentary (7 programmes)
1 Foreign Correspondent – Japanese Justice (ABC-Australia)
2 Metropolis – The Power of Cities: Carthage (ZDF-Germany)
3 The Man Who Fought Against SARS (NHK-Japan)
4 Family Bond – Give Us Back Our Father! (TBS-Japan)
5 The Small Corner (KA-Kazakhstan)
6 The World Unseen – The Microscopic World (EBS-Rep. of Korea)
7 The Children Lived Happily Ever After (KBS-Rep. of Korea)
Special Jury Award (5 programmes)
Ø Tiny Statues, Big Dreams (BBS-Bhutan)
Ø Raging Flood (Fiji TV-Fiji)
Ø And Blind Said (NTRC-Kyrgyzstan)
Ø One Day of Young Priest (MRTV-Mongolia)
Ø Rhythm of Ruhuna (SLRC-Sri Lanka)
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.
