News Broadcasting
Asiasat 4 scheduled for early April launch
HONG KONG: AsiaSat 4, the fourth satellite of Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company (AsiaSat), has arrived in Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA aboard a chartered heavy lift cargo aircraft.
Preparation for launching AsiaSat 4 by the Atlas IIIB rocket has commenced. This new satellite is currently scheduled for an early April launch.
AsiaSat 4, a Boeing 601HP model, will be deployed at the orbital location of 122 degrees east longitude, to replace AsiaSat 1. The new satellite is designed to provide advanced satellite services such as DTH television broadcasting, VSAT networks for business, rural telephony, broadband and IP solutions.
In a press statement, Asiasat CEO Peter Jackson was quoted as saying: “AsiaSat 4 will be the largest member of AsiaSat’s satellite fleet. Its unique and high performance C-band coverage will complement and provide redundancy for our two existing satellites, AsiaSat 2 and AsiaSat 3S. It will further expand our satellite capacity over the Asia Pacific region and enable our customers to enjoy unbeatable back up and greater flexibility for regional coverage.”
“AsiaSat 4’s high power Ku-band beams customised for Australia, East Asia and Hong Kong would be the ideal platform for delivering Direct-to-Home (DTH) and broadband solutions to these regions,” Jackson adds.
Carrying 28 C-band and 20 Ku-band transponders with a 15-year design life, AsiaSat 4’s pan Asian C-band footprint will cover more than 40 countries and regions from Auckland to Tehran.
The Ku-band coverage will consist of two high-power focused beams for East Asia and Australia, as well as a new BSS (Broadcast Satellite Service) Hong Kong payload for DTH services in Hong Kong and the adjacent South China region.
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.
