News Broadcasting
Americans reinforce trust in pubcaster PBS
MUMBAI: US pubcaster PBS has announced that its position as an institution that Americans trust is going from strength to strength.
For the second consecutive year, a Roper Public Affairs and Media poll shows that Americans consider PBS to be the countries most trusted institution among nationally known organisations.
According to the study’s 1,001 randomly selected participants, Americans also believe that PBS provides the second best use of tax dollars, following military defense. The respondents ranked PBS programming as more important, compared with commercial and cable television. They also consider PBS news and public affairs series the most trustworthy.
PBS president and CEO Pat Mitchell said, “Results from this comprehensive survey help to demonstrate the importance of PBS programming among Americans as well as its institutional value to supporters of the public television service. The results of this survey affirm the American public’s trust and value in PBS in an age of exponentially growing media choices.
“It is gratifying to see the success of the rigorous standards to which we hold our programming. Clearly, we have achieved our goal of striving to positively impact the lives of millions through the power of media.”
Additional survey highlights:
– PBS is the second most valuable service taxpayers receive, outranked only by military defense by two percentage points. 23 per cent of the respondents stated that PBS was an excellent use of their tax dollars.
– Americans are more satisfied with programming on PBS compared to cable and commercial broadcasters. 38 per cent of respondents are “very satisfied” with current PBS programmes, compared with 21 per cent for cable and 16 per cent for commercial broadcasters.
– 41 per cent of Americans rank PBS as the most trusted source for news and public affairs programs, compared with other network broadcasters.
– 51 per cent believe that the amount of federal funding PBS receives is “too little.” 82 per cent believe that public and private funding given to PBS from government, corporations and individuals is “money well spent.”
– Americans believe PBS programs address various issues “very well”, including: arts and culture, American history, literacy, ethnic and cultural diversity and political and social issues.
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.
