News Broadcasting
BBC Hindi to kick off 2-week series on Aids
MUMBAI: The BBC Hindi Service has announced the launch of a high impact two-week series on the issue of HIV/Aids starting this Sunday (16 November).
The series will kick off with Talking Point, a 30-minute discussion programme featuring JJ Hospital Mumbai’s head of Department of Medicine Dr Alaka Deshpande, and a HIV positive man Rajendra Shirke.
Everyday, the series will debate and provide information about what is now the fourth biggest killer in the world, leading up to World Aids Day 1 December.
A company release states, that Aids series is a part of the BBC World Service season featuring a range of broadcasts from Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. The season is the first time the entire BBC World Service – including the Hindi programmes, the 42 language services and English – have joined forces to address one subject.
BBC Hindi Service head Achala Sharma is quoted in the release as saying, “India has over 4.5 million people with HIV/Aids but due to ignorance and inhibitions, the country hasn’t fully grasped the size of its huge health problem, or the implications. Our series will challenge the traditional taboos around talking about sex. It will give our listeners straightforward information about HIV/Aids. We’ll also encourage discussion about important issues such as safe sex and attitudes to those living with the virus.”
The issues addressed in BBC Hindi series will include:
* Women and Aids: the plight of rural women with little knowledge of the disease who often become its unsuspecting victims
* Sex workers: often claimed to spread the disease, how are they responding to the threat of the virus?
* Condoms: their availability and people’s attitude towards buying, selling and using them
* Drug companies: Indian anti-retroviral drug manufacturers such as Cipla and the cost of drug therapy
* Doctors: their dilemma in dealing openly with HIV/Aids cases
* ‘Quacks’: the boom in business for those promising desperate people a ‘cure’
* Homosexuals: more prone to the virus, still stigmatised and not accepted by society
* Children: the situation of HIV/Aids children who are often ostracised
* Migrant labourers: the lack of awareness among migrant labourers who are vulnerable to the disease
* Testimonials : HIV positive people from different regions highlighting the social stigma and apathy they face.
The series will end with a second Talking Point with health minister Sushma Swaraj on 30 November.
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.
