News Broadcasting
BBC World Service explores Asian Diasporas
MUMBAI:BBC World Service is launching a new three-part series examining the impact of Asian people on 21st century life. Asian Diasporas starts on Friday, 16 August on the English service and will explore aspects of Asian life and influence, from business and politics to family life.
Presented by Jatinder Verma, himself a child of the diaspora, Asian Diasporas looks at the contributions of recent and established immigrant communities and analyses their changing loyalties and identities, according to an official release. “When I arrived in Britain in 1968 from Kenya, ‘Asian’ was a minority concern,” explains Verma. “Over 30 years later, Asian food and culture are very much a part of the UK mainstream. Today, every fourth person one is ever likely to meet in the world will be an Asian. This is not just a reflection of global population but also of migration. There is hardly a country in the world without an Asian migrant population, so Asians are contributing to the changing face of the 21st century.”
Asian Diasporas goes to the United States, Malaysia, Brazil, United Arab Emirates and Britain to examine how the Chinese, Indian, Japanese and Korean Diasporas are shaping the world in the 21st century. Each programme compares and contrasts two case studies within one theme: Family, Business and Political Influence.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING AWARD: BBC World Service has won the Commonwealth of Learning Award of Excellence for Institutional Achievement for the quality of its English teaching on radio and online.
BBC World Service’s Learning English output connects with audiences around the world, often through developing local partnerships.
Presenting the award, Andrea Hope, the Commonwealth of Learning’s Higher Education Specialist, praised the accessible, learner-centred approach of BBC World Service’s English language teaching provision and its use of computer and Internet technology.
Andrea said: “To avoid the loneliness of the long-distance learner, opportunities are provided to use English with other learners via an online message board and email-based discussion group, which now has nearly 3,000 members in 85 countries. We were impressed by the way the organisation makes partnerships with local educational bodies and broadcasters around the world to produce materials which achieve a balance between global content, global content adapted for local use and highly targeted local content produced in association with other partners.”
BBC English makes teaching materials on radio and online for BBC World Service.
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.
