News Broadcasting
BBC to conduct world’s first ‘public venue’ broadcast
LONDON: Manchester city centre is the venue for the world’s first public space broadcasting experiment featuring a 25 square metre video screen and full sound system. The scheme is a partnership between the BBC, Philips, Manchester City Council and Milligan/ The Blackstone Group, owners of The Triangle Shopping Centre.
The big screen is being used to provide a mixture of live television and local information in text form including news and weather updates. The system will operate 24 hours a day and throughout the year long. A team of pilot researchers will study how people in a public place respond to various uses of the screen.
The state of the art technology will be used to show a wide range of televised events including news, sport, entertainment, art and community projects over the next year. The first major event to be featured is live action from the FA Cup (17 May), followed by the Manchester Festival Europa (22 May to 1 June) and the Eurovision Song Contest (24 May).
The screen will be operated by the BBC from its Manchester base in Oxford Road. It will have its own schedule drawn from a mixture of live BBC television programmes, relays of live events in Exchange Square, locally produced films and videos and a continuous feed of local information from BBCi.
The Beeb is providing the programming and creating the schedule in conjunction with the other stakeholders. Consumer electronics major Philips will be providing the equipment, installing the screen and maintaining its supporting technology.
As part of the opening ceremony which is scheduled to take place this evening aerial artists Viva will hang from cranes over Exchange Square to unveil the screen. The performers are famous for their red silk acrobatics which are shown regularly between BBC One programmes.
BBC director of nations and regions Pat Loughrey said: “It offers a new way to deliver quality programming and major events to our audiences and at the same time to provide an innovative new facility for Manchester. We have high hopes for it.”
Chairman and chief executive of Philips Electronics UK, David Jordan said:”Philips has done more to develop the television set over the years than any other company. Taking the TV set out of the living room and making it a focal point in large public spaces where people can gather in this way shows what an important part TV plays in our daily lives.”
“Today we have moved another step forward by helping to take broadcasting into public areas where people can enjoy the atmosphere of getting together whilst being able to view high quality television coverage,” Jordan adds.
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.
