News Broadcasting
BBC World invites votes for ‘Greatest Briton’
MUMBAI: Last year in a BBC poll, 1.6 million UK viewers voted for Sir Winston Churchill as the “greatest Briton”. Now, the survey broadens it’s reach to the rest of the world to find out whether or not we agree with that choice.
Votes must be cast through the site www.bbcworld.com/vote. The site also has a biography of all ten Britons on the shortlist, as well as summaries of each presenter’s argument and pertinent facts about the nominees. They include Churchill, Charles Darwin, Princess Diana, John Lennon amongst others.
On air, the channel commenced the weekly series Great Britons from 7 June every Saturday at 7:40 pm with a repeat on Sunday’s at 2:40 pm and 11:40 pm.
Presenters – including the conservative politician Michael Portillo, the historian Tristram Hunt and Jeremy Clarkson, the presenter of Top Gear – will explain passionately why their choice deserves to be named as the world’s greatest Briton.
In the final programme in the series, scheduled to be broadcast on 16 and 17 August, Click Online presenter Stephen Cole will reveal the results of the global voting. The poll will provide an insight into the figures whom international viewers consider their twenty-first century role models.
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.
