News Broadcasting
BBC World appoints Sian Kevill as editorial director
NEW DELHI: Sian Kevill has been appointed to the newly created position of editorial director of BBC World, the BBC’s commercially funded 24-hour international news and information channel.
The former editor of the BBC’s Bafta awards-winning Newsnight programme will be responsible for shaping and building the overall editorial direction of BBC World, ensuring that it meets its aim of being the best international television news channel, according to an official statement from BBC World.
Sian is currently the head of new political initiative at the BBC, where she has led the corporation’s political programmes review. She assumed her new role on 10 November.
As Newsnight editor from 1998 to 2002, Sian led the programme to Bafta Awards for Best Presenter and Best New Director.
During this time, Newsnight also received awards from the Monte Carlo Television Festival, the Royal Television Society and Race In The Media. Sian herself was presented with a personal award from Women in Film and Television in 2002 for her contribution to news and current affairs.
Sian’s wide-ranging editorial experience across the BBC will enable her to enhance and develop the editorial direction of the channel at a time when the demand for international news has never been greater. Her career at the BBC, which began in 1984, has also included time as the deputy editor of on the record, editor of radio foreign programmes and the deputy head of political programmes.
Commenting on the appointment, director of the BBC’s global news division Mark Byford is quoted as saying, “BBC World is at the heart of our strategy for the Global News Division, which encompasses all our international facing news operations. Over the coming months, Sian will play a leading role in building on the editorial success of the channel to date. She is an outstanding editorial executive.”
BBC World now reaches a third of senior financial leaders in Europe, North America and Asia, according to this year’s Global Capital Markets Survey, and was recently ranked first in the categories of authority and relevance in the European Opinion Leaders Survey.
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.
