News Broadcasting
BBC to air ‘The Virgin Queen’ next month
MUMBAI: UK pubcaster The BBC has announced that its channel BBC One will air the drama series The Virgin Queen from next month. The show explores the full sweep of the long and eventful life of England’s iconic queen Elizabeth – from her days of fear as a potential victim of her sister’s terror; through her great love affair with Robert Dudley; into her years of triumph over the Armada; and finally her old age and her last enigmatic relationship with her young protégé, the Earl of Essex.
It has been written by Paula Milne. BBC head of drama series and serials Laura Mackie says, “Paula has written an amazing number of dramas. I felt she would be a great choice given her track record for writing female characters. The fact that Paula knew very little about Elizabeth was a huge asset because she came without any preconceptions: she just immersed herself in research, and once she’d done that, she carved her way through in a kind of bravura way, taking a very personal approach to the material, writing something which is an intimate and personal portrait.”
Milne says, “I decided to look at Elizabeth as a character, a stateswoman and public figure using some contemporary references to see if they held up. What we have done in this drama which differs from the many portrayals of her in theatre, movies and television before is that we have taken the whole of her life. Some of my favourite moments are really in the personal stuff; the see-sawing, pulling to and fro between Elizabeth and Dudley and her temptation and desire to be close to him, to even marry him and then pulling away. I always get misty-eyed about that because that to me is the heart of Elizabeth and Dudley.”
The Virgin Queen is part of a broad portfolio of projects including The Family Man, Mayo, Soundproof – and more recently, Shakespeare Re-Told and Bleak House.
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.
