News Broadcasting
AFI to recognise ‘Desparate Houswives’, ‘Sopranos’
MUMBAI: It is awards season time for the American film and television industries. The American Film Institute (AFI) has chosen what it considers to be the best that television and film had to offer this year.
Its television programmes of the year included HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm which airs in India on Zee English and ABC’s Desperate Housewives. The show took ABC to second spot in the November sweepstakes.
The other winners included Fox’s Arrested Development, The Shield which airs in India on AXN and HBO’s The Sopranos which airs on Zee English in India.
Unlike other film or television awards, the AFI selections are made through a 13-person jury process in which scholars, artists, critics and AFI trustees discuss, debate and determine the most outstanding achievements of the year, as well as provide a detailed rationale for each selection. Two AFI juries — one for motion pictures and one for television — convened in Los Angeles for two days of deliberation.
AFI will honor the creative ensembles for each of the honorees at a luncheon on 14 January 2005, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles, California. The jury rationales for each selection will be revealed at this event. In fact three years ago when the AFI first announced their awards they had a ceremony in a bid to compete with the Golden Globes. However, after getting a lukewarm response the organisation decided to simply announce the winners.
As far as the best film list was concerned Martin Scorcese’s The Aviator which is considered by some to be the favourite to win the Best Picture Oscar in February was chosen by AFI as one of the top ten films of the year. Sony’s blockbuster Spiderman 2 also made the cut along with Collateral where Tom Cruise played a ruthless killer, the comedy classic Sideways which deals with wine tasters in California and the mind bender Eternal Sunshine Of the Spotless Mind.
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.
