News Broadcasting
Al Jazeera English named ‘Best Digital Team’; wins award for Yoga show
NEW DELHI: After the announcement by the United Nations about marking of 21 June as the International Day of Yoga, this ancient practice appears to have picked up on the media as well.
While the event on 21 June in Delhi will be telecast live, a series is being produced by an international channel into the history of Yoga.
And now Al Jazeera English online has won an award for the Best Use of Photography for its Portrait of a Yogi, which was a photographic exploration of the power of yoga to unite people across cultural and physical divides. The photo gallery was commended for its innovative and dynamic approach to photography, which had dramatically added to a user’s experience when visiting the site.
The award was one of three awards won by the channel at the prestigious Online Media Awards in London. The other awards were for Best Technical Innovation and Outstanding Digital Team.
The Best Technical Innovation and Outstanding Digital Team of the Year went to the Palestine Remix Project, which was a network wide initiative that allowed users to access some of Al Jazeera’s best documentaries on Palestine. The project also had interactive maps and timelines, which allow users to truly understand the Palestinian issue and to contextualize it.
Palestine Remix was awarded for demonstrating how technology was applied in a way that is creative and mould-breaking.
The awards were judged by an independent panel from the British Journalism Review for the outstanding digital team award, Al Jazeera English online beat Vice News, Channel 4 News online, the Huffington Post, the Guardian and BBC News Online. The Online Media Awards, now in its fourth year, identify the cleverest, boldest and most original purveyors of news and views from around the world.
Al Jazeera English head of online Imad Musa said the awards were the culmination of years of hard work from members of the entire newsroom. “This recognition by our peers is a testament to Al Jazeera’s efforts to find new ways of storytelling, and to explain complex issues to a global audience. Our team is small but incredibly passionate about what they create, and it’s great that our peers agree that they are the best digital team in the world. We will continue to push the boundaries of original journalism and innovative design,” Musa said.
Senior producer and Palestine Remix Technical project lead Mohammed El-Haddad added, “Winning two awards for the best digital team and best technical innovation is a huge privilege for Al Jazeera. Palestine Remix weaves the latest HTML5 video technology with informative videos to truly involve our audience in the storytelling process. The interactive team alongside our journalists constantly tries and uses new ways to tell a story. Winning these awards has shown Al Jazeera is ahead of the pack for original journalism and using innovative tools.”
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.
