News Broadcasting
Al Jazeera to respond to I&B Ministry notice within 15 days
Updated: 02 Sep 2014 12:30 pm
NEW DELHI: News broadcaster Al Jazeera is expected to respond well in time to the show cause issued by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry for allegedly depicting a wrong map of India in its news reports.
Sources confirming the issuance of the notice said a period had been given to the channel to reply to the notice.
The Ministry had said that it had come to its attention that a wrong map of India had been shown in its news broadcasts by the channel last year more than once, in which parts of the country were shown outside the border.
“It had come to the notice of the Ministry that in some of the news reports shown by the channel in 2013 related to various incidents, parts of Jammu and Kashmir were shown in territory outside India. The Ministry took the matter with the office of Surveyor General of India.
“After a report was received from the office of Surveyor General of India, a show cause notice has been issued to the channel,” a source said.
Under the Cable TV Networks Rules 1994, no programme should be carried in the Cable Service which contains anything affecting the integrity of a nation.
An official spokesperson from the company said, “Al Jazeera takes all feedback on its coverage very seriously. Our editorial policy is always in line with international law, and to ensure the greatest integrity and quality of information to our viewers in India and right around the world.
“Our style guide says: ‘Any map of India must include Indian-Administered Kashmir, and any map of Pakistan must include Pakistan-Administered Kashmir. The borders of Kashmir should be a dotted line.’ Some of our maps of both India and Pakistan though did not have the disputed territories clearly visible. This has been rectified.”
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.
