News Broadcasting
Balaji to aggressively tap overseas markets
MUMBAI : Balaji Telefilms, which recently sold telecast rights of 1000 hours of software from its library to an Indonesian company, plans to aggressively target the overseas market this fiscal.
The company has previously sold regional language software to outfits in Malaysia, South Africa and Sri Lanka for telecast on local terrestrial and satellite channels. However, while the earlier deals were struck on sporadic requests from the overseas firms, the Indonesian deal is the first where Balaji decided to go all out and solicit buyers for its library.
COO Rajesh Pavithran who was present at the Asian Television Forum in Singapore, says the response was more than enthusiastic. “The buyers were amazingly well informed about our wares than we expected,” he says. Pt Menara Media Sakti, the company that lapped up 1000 hours of Balaji’s software with an option of using any of the five Hindi serials offered, will be allowed one time telecast plus one natural repeat on satellite / terrestrial channels beaming in Indonesia only. Subsequently, the rights will revert back to the company. The serials offered to Menara included Kabhi Souten Kabhi Saheli, Itihaas, Bandhan and Padosan.
Balaji also plans to get into international co-productions, but Pavithran is loath to reveal more at this stage. The company has, in its 2800 hours of library software, Tamil and Telugu serials like Kudumbbam, Kulaaa Villaku, Pavitra Bandham, and Kavyanjali.
The company has however put on hold its plans to venture into the regional markets of Kerala and West Bengal as planned earlier. Balaji will now tap these markets only after the World Cup. While Star is yet to officially announce its plans to go ahead with Kalki, the children’s fantasy show to be made by Balaji, Pavithran is confident that the Sunday morning show will shortly debut on the channel.
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.
