News Broadcasting
BBC News Online reports global support for Nisha Sharma
NEW DELHI: It looks as if Nisha Sharma is getting international support for her stand on dowry and BBC News Online has played a role in it.
The BBC News Online has reported massive international interest and support for Nisha Sharma over her stand against dowry. According a press release, more than 170,000 people logged on to the BBC’s award winning news site (bbcnews.com) in just two days to read it’s reports about Nisha’s reaction to her fiance’s greedy dowry demands.
In a special poll set up on the site, 96 per cent of the 10,000 voters supported her decision to call the police. The BBC also reports that men have been writing in from around the region including a 23-year-old man from Kabul, Afghanistan. He said he was moved by Nisha Sharma’s courage and wished to marry her.
The release adds that this kind of a phenomenal response is possible only because BBC’s award winning News Online service is the world’s most popular new site and is read by millions of people across the world every day.
The editor of BBC’s online service at the BBC South Asia Bureau in Delhi, Sanjoy Majumder, was quoted as saying: “The response to the Nisha Sharma story is an example of how her situation has touched people worldwide. Our dedicated South Asia page is part of our effort to extend coverage of the region online and bring a diverse range of stories to a vast international audience.”
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.
