News Broadcasting
ATN Canada takes Zee TV battle to Canadian regulator
MUMBAI: There’s some sparring happening in the land of the maple leaf. Ethnic TV platform – The Asian Television Network (ATN) – which delivers some 40 language channels to South Asian communities in Canada and run by Shan Chandrasekar has filed a formal complaint with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) against Zee TV’s Canada service, operated by the Ethnic Channel Group (ECG).
In a letter dated 3 June to the CRTC, ATN has complained that Zee TV Canada has shifted away from its licensed brief to provide a television service targeted at women in the Hindi-speaking community there and has started targeting general viewers. According to ATN, Zee TV Canada was licensed initially as a niche third-language ethnic specialty Category B service targeted at Hindi speaking women. It has since expanded to providing general entertainment programming, which means it has gone beyond its classification.
ATN, in the complaint, has said it had a licensing agreement for airing Zee TV programming on its specialty Category A service South Asian Television (SATV) for a number of years until January 2013 when it could not renew its content purchase agreement. SATV, is among the six authorised third-language general entertainment television services afforded protection under Canadian law. As part of that if the CRTC does license a specialty service in the same language as one of the existing third-language Category A services, the new third-language service would be packaged as a buy-through with the existing third-language Category A service of the same language, says the ATN complaint. To get around this restriction several foreign broadcasters are applying for the specialty category B service only to launch them later as a general interest service. ATN says that this is hurting its interests.
In the specific case of Zee TV Canada, it says that, as of March 2013 it is offering programming which is between 70 per cent and 90 per cent in Hindi, offering competition to SATV. It further goes on to clarify that in the number of press releases that the Ethnic Channel Group Ltd (EGCL) has made in launching Zee TV Canada there has not been one mention of launching a niche programming service for women. It has rather emphasised on the fact that Zee TV is an international programming service and a leading South Asian media brand available globally to 650 million viewers in 169 countries.
As almost 100% of programming from Zee TV (global) is shown on Zee TV Canada, these statements serve to show that this service is an all encompassing general interest programming service rather than a niche programming service as ECGL had proposed in its service approved in Decision 2013-53 with the CRTC.
Apart from the complaint, ATN has also sent across a package of 128 DVD recordings of two different one-week periods of Zee TV programming emphasising that it is offering mass appeal programming that is directed at the Hindi-speaking community at large.
The two options which ATN feels can help resolve the situation are: first, if Zee TV Canada is not a niche programming service, ECGL should file an application for the purpose of receiving proper authorisation from the CRTC to continue operating there. Secondly, if ECGL is indeed operating a general interest Hindi-language Category B service, then the service should be a buy-through with the Category A SATV Hindi-language service, as penciled in the law.
So when Indiantelevison.com contacted Zee TV’s US office, head of sale Zee TV USA Sameer Targe said, “The complaint is absolutely false, ATN is not able to digest the fact that Zee has moved its business from it to EGCL. This ending ATN’s so called monopoly in the Canada market.”
He further clarified that Zee TV Canada is a women oriented Hindi language channel and it has been granted the same license by CRTC.
All we can do is play the waiting game as a response for ECGL is due on 3 September.
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.
