News Broadcasting
BBC Intercative to showcase stories made by UK viewers
MUMBAI: BBCi in the UK has launched a new television service for digital satellite viewers. This will showcase real-life stories made by people from across the UK..
Commissioned by BBC New Media and developed by BBC Nations and Regions, Your Stories appears behind the red button on BBCi digital satellite on page 5670. The service is drawn from two BBC projects which give people the skills to make their own short films: Video Nation and Digital Stories.
Video Nation has a team of over 30 producers around Britain working with local people to make short films by training individuals in the use of camcorders and storytelling. Video Nation films feature individuals sharing moments of their lives with the camera, and range from the humorous to the bizarre and moving. Digital Stories projects include Capture Wales, Telling Lives and digital storytelling at BBC Open Centres.
In workshops run by the BBC, people from all walks of life come together to tell their story with the help of laptop computers, scanners, digital cameras and editing software. The resulting shorts are touching, amusing and often surprising. The BBCi service is available to viewers 24 hours a day by pushing the red button on their digital remote control – no matter what BBC channel they have on.
Themes vary from current events to BBC campaigns and programmes. Daily themes also shed light on particular enthusiasms of the contributors. Wheels was an eclectic mix of stories including a woman cyclist from North Wales and a desperate learner driver. My Music included stories from a man whose rock’n’roll heroes had all died by the age of 27 (while he lived on); an eight-year-old trumpet player; and a blind pianist.
BBCi controller Rahul Chakkara says, “The BBCi audience is maturing. They are looking for content that is social and highly involving, and available to them whenever they want. Your Stories is the beginning of our efforts to meet this need. We go beyond involvement through interaction and we involve our audiences by encouraging them to produce their own content.”
Next month, BBCi’s Your Stories has a week dedicated to new films by GCSE students. The films have been made during the stress of the revision period, and also link with the GCSE Bitesize website.
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.
