News Broadcasting
Asiasat offering back up services to Star
MUMBAI: Asiasat has announced that it is providing back up facilities and services to Rupert Murdoch’s broadcaster Star at its new Tai Po earth station in Hong Kong.
As per the terms of the agreement, Asiasat will provide facilities to house Star’s back up broadcast and RF equipment for downlinking and emergency uplinking to AsiaSat 3S and other related services. A company release informs that Asiasat’s Tai Po earth station is a new facility.
The station is built on a site comprising a 52,743 sq.ft. two-level building and five antennae. The station is designed for tracking and monitoring Asiasat’s satellites as well as for providing additional value-added services to AsiaSat’s customers such as C-band and Ku-band traffic uplinking and back up services.
Star’s COO Steve Askew adds, “Asiasat has been a reliable partner for Star since our launch more than a decade ago. This agreement further expands our existing collaboration in ensuring total reliability and quality control in the playout and broadcast of our services to viewers across the region.”
Asiasat claims to serve over two-thirds of the world’s population with its satellites. Over 120 analogue and digital television channels and 90 radio channels are now delivered by its satellites, reaching over 80 million households, with more than 300 million viewers across the Asia Pacific 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.
