News Broadcasting
BBC to showcase a series of specials celebrating Africa
MUMBAI: BBC World has announced a line-up of special shows based on Africa Lives. This show that challenges preconceptions about the vast African continent, and offers fascinating insights into the lives and culture of some of its 700 million people. The channel’s line-up of shows for July are War Games, Geldof in Africa, Journeys Of Hope, The World Uncovered. Panorama: Dead Mums Don’t Cry, Rough Science, Profile – Chinua Achebe, Destination Music: Africa and Nollywood
The documentary, War Games airs on 2 July at 12: 40 pm. It tells the story of a barefoot festival of sport involving thousands of children, just a few kilometres from the frontline of Sudan’s civil war,informs BBC release.
Bob Geldof leaves live aid and politics behind to travel the continent to meet the people of Africa in the six-part series Geldof in Africa. The series kicks off on 2 July at 8 pm. Geldof makes a six-part personal journey through Africa to understand ordinary Africans and, through their experiences, explain the forces that make the continent tick. Travelling through West Africa (Ghana, Benin and Mali), Central Africa (the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda) and East Africa (Ethiopia, Tanzania and Somalia), Geldof explores the continent that the rest of the world seems to be leaving behind.
In Journeys Of Hope, former BBC foreign correspondent George Alagiah retraces his personal voyage from boyhood to manhood in Africa. The weekly documentary strand The World Uncovered focuses on issues such as the high mortality rate among women giving birth in Africa, while a series of programmes on culture and the arts examines architecture, literature, cinema and the beauty industry around the continent.
The World Uncovered. Panorama: Dead Mums Don’t Cry will feature on 2 July at 5:40 pm. The panorama investigates why more than half a million women die every year during pregnancy and childbirth across Africa. Grace Kodindo in a state hospital as she struggles to save those suffering from eclampsia.
Rough Science, will air for six weeks, from 2 July at 2 pm. The six-part series gathers a team of four expert scientists and asks them to tackle challenges with just a few basic pieces of equipment, natural resources and their ingenuity. Profile – Chinua Achebe will air on 3 July at 12 pm. Profile will feature Chinua Achebe, who is considered to be black Africa’s most widely-read novelist. This Nigerian author and poet has received more than 20 honorary doctorates and several international literary prizes, and his first book, Things Fall Apart, has now been translated into 40 languages.
Destination Music: Africa will feature performers including Emmanuel Jal, a Sudanese child soldier who’s now making a name as a rapper; Jonzi D and South Africa’s Audio Visual Crew, new-style hip hop improvisers; and Damon Albarn of Gorillaz and Blur, whose record label Honest John is at the forefront of championing music from Africa. The show will air on 16 July at 5:40 pm.
Nollywood, will showcase the film business, which is booming and now ranked as the third largest in the world, with ten releases a week on 17 Jujly at 12 pm.
The channel will also highlight Africa Lives through regular programmes Hardtalk, Click Online Fasttrack Earth Report and Talking Point. There will also be a special edition of one of BBC World’s current affairs programmes Question Time.
Question Time Africa will air on 9 July at 12:40 pm and will be chaired by David Dimbleby.
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.
