News Broadcasting
BBC World Service weekly audiences in India grow by one million
MUMBAI: BBC World Service’s weekly radio audience estimate is 182 million listeners a week across its 33 language services – down one million on last year’s record 183 million total.
However the English language service attracted 40 million weekly listeners – up two million on last year. BBC World Service weekly audiences in Indian and Nigerian radio markets each grew by around a million or more during the year. BBC World Service is now available on FM in 154 capital cities, up from 152 last year.
The BBC World Service has published its annual review. In his foreword, BBC World Service director Nigel Chapman said, “It was a broadcasting year that saw the launch of the first BBC television news channel for a decade, improvements to our future media services, and the retention of our global radio listenership after the large increase of the previous 12 months.
“In these ways, 2007/08 can be seen as a defining year; we demonstrated our ability to innovate while retaining the affection of audiences, who have been loyal to us for a large part of our history.”
BBC World Service is further developing its multimedia strategy, including the launch of BBC Arabic television. Independent research indicates that BBC World Service’s reputation for providing unbiased and objective news and information is stronger than that of any other international radio competitor in virtually all markets surveyed.
BBC World Service’s online sites attracted a record 259.6 million page impressions in March 2008, compared to 189.8 million in March 2007, an increase of 37 per cent.
BBC Global News services – which include BBC World Service, BBC World News television and bbc.com/news (the BBC’s international-facing online news site) – maintained its record global weekly audience of over 233 million during 2007/08.
BBC World Service’s Grant-in-aid funding for 2007/08 was £255 million.
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.
