News Broadcasting
Awaaz wraps up 2005 with special shows
MUMBAI: Awaaz – the Hindi consumer channel from CNBC TV18 stable will host a special series of four year-end specials that will feature some of the hottest programmes on the channel like Smart Shopping, Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi, Prime Property and Glamour Bazaar.
Smart Shopping will air four special episodes beginning the first week of December where supermodels like Pooja Bedi, Tupur Chatterjee and others will go on a shopping extravaganza in a special series called Super Shopping with Super Models.
Each episode will feature a supermodel who will take viewers to their hottest shopping spots discussing what they shop for, how they bargain and most importantly whether they are smart shoppers. The show will discuss options or brands available in the market for buying similar products bought by the celebrity and will auction products that the celebrity bought or was planning to buy at the store.The episodes will have special segments like: Smart shopper meter, Style meter and Trivia.
Apart from the latest episodes on Super Shopping with Super Models, Smart Shopping will have a five episode series beginning 26 December to 1 January. The show will cover a range of trends in 2005 and trends likely to follow in 2006,across different categories ranging from jewellery to consumer electronics.
Chalti kA Naam Gaadi’s final episode for the year ending December 2005, will show the most successful cars that made it to the top this year, the reason for their success above the competition and what one can expect in the automobile sector in India and globally in 2006.
Prime Property will feature property trends in India during 2005 and how the property market will evolve during 2006.
Glamour Bazaar – the last episode for 2005 will include Bollywood’s biggest flops and major blockbusters that hit the movie business and what to expect from Bollywood in 2006.
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.
