News Broadcasting
BBC Worldwide holding showcase for global buyers in the UK
MUMBAI: BBC Worldwide’s trade event BBC Showcase is taking place in Brighton England till 1 March 2007. 560 buyers from all over the globe are in attendance. The annual event sees BBC Worldwide generate programme sales and broker international funding deals for co productions on behalf of the BBC, other UK networks and independent producers.
Delegate numbers the BBC says have grown as buyers from traditional television networks are increasingly joined by a new generation of buyers looking to license content for digital media platforms such as mobile television, independent video on demand services and digital extensions to traditional television networks.
The past year has seen BBC Worldwide secure content deals around the world with major digital media platforms across Europe, Asia Pacific and the Americas, including Vodafone, Orange, T-Online, Telstra, ONO, Netflix, Amazon US, Hanaromedia Korea and Telefonica. Combined with strong growth in traditional programme sales, these new markets for content are seeing BBC Worldwide’s Global TV Sales division well on target to make around £190million (US$370million) this financial year, up from last year’s £171million (US$333million).
BBC Worldwide Global TV sales MD Mark Young, said, “We secure the best deal for our content and this involves a much wider number of viewing platforms in each ter-ritory than previously. Traditional television platforms remain a central part of our business, but there is a great deal of room to embrace new platforms alongside them. Viewing habits are changing and our business is changing with them.”
In line with the increasing digitisation and convergence of its client base, BBC Worldwide is taking steps to future-proof its content and delivery capabilities. Already, over 1,000 hours of programming has been digitised and BBC Worldwide is now investing heavily in digitising all current and back catalogue in order to protect quality, improve delivery across a wider range of devices and move towards a tapeless business.
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.
