News Broadcasting
BBC launches 2005 News Sponsorship Scheme
MUMBAI: The BBC has launched its News Sponsorship Scheme for 2005 in the UK. The scheme, now in its fifth year awards 15 students on the Broadcast Journalism Training Council (BJTC) accredited courses, full funding for their postgraduate diplomas in broadcast journalism, plus bursaries to help with living expenses during their course.
Each student is also allocated a senior BBC journalist as a mentor, and is offered up to five weeks paid work experience and training in an area of network news. One place on the scheme is dedicated to Christopher Price, the late BBC Three presenter. Price fronted the entertainment news programme Liquid News following a career in BBC local radio, Radio Five Live and News 24, before his death in 2002 at the age of 34. This sponsored student will receive at least one of their work placements with BBC Three News.
The News Sponsorship Scheme is aimed at attracting new and diverse talent into BBC News around the UK, while enabling students to fund their postgraduate course. BBC News director Helen Boaden, says, “BBC News should serve every community across the UK. To do that well, we need staff from a very wide range of backgrounds and experience.” Scheme director Daniell Morrisey said, “The scheme has successfully kick-started the careers of many spiring journalists. Many of its former students have remained with the BBC joining one of our national or regional newsrooms.”
Christine Liu is one of the successful applicants from 2004. She said: “The most important thing to note is that the BBC is not looking for one particular type of person. My first degree is in physics – other people have backgrounds as diverse as finance and anthropology. A few have worked before while others, like me, came straight from university. The one thing we all have in common is a passion for journalism.”
Debbie Jackson is another of last year’s successful applicants. She said: “The News Sponsorship Scheme changed my life. Having worked for a few years and previously worked in print journalism I really wanted to have a go at broadcast journalism and start a new career. Gaining the confidence and experience from the scheme made the big jump into leaving work and going back to college much easier.”
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.
