News Broadcasting
APTN offers Saddam Hussein exclusive to Indian news channels
MUMBAI: Indian news television channels wanting to give their viewers a peek at whom the US calls the monster from Baghdad can do so now. Courtesy Associated Press Television News (APTN), the international video arm of the Associated Press.
APTN is offering the telecast rights to anyone wanting to air the recent interview of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein by former British politician Tony Benn in Baghdad. The news agency has the international exclusive distribution rights of the interview.
An APTN spokesperson has asked broadcasters who want to use the footage to contact APTN’s library or aptn_library@ap.org.
APTN distributed the interview with Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi leader’s first interview since the 1991 Gulf War, at 5 pm – 5:40 pm GMT (repeated at 7:00 pm – 7:40 pm GMT) on Tuesday, 4 February 2003. In the UK, Channel 4 aired Tony Benn’s interviews with Hussein from 7 pm (GMT) onwards on 4 February 2003.
The network aired around 25 minutes of the hour-long interview during Channel 4 News which was anchored by Jon Snow.
It is understood that BBC was originally planning to buy the interview for broadcast on BBC Two, however talks with the Arab Television Network, the company which owns the rights to the piece, fell through after the corporation refused to pay more than the bare production costs.
Channel 4 refused to confirm how much it had paid for the interview — the first the dictator has given to a Westerner in 12 years — but sources pointed towards a five-figure sum.
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.
