News Broadcasting
BBC’s ‘Business Bites’ returns with a new series from 9 January
MUMBAI: BBC World business programme – Business Bites, has come back with a new series featuring two top competing industry leaders each week, discussing the key issues and challenges facing their sectors. The new series will begin from 9 January and will be aired at 11 am and 10 pm.
This weekend’s episode focuses on the core infrastructure sector of power with Tata Power managing director Firdose Vandrewalla and Maharashtra State Electricity Board chairman Jayant Kawale. The programme sees them discussing the need for reforms, the concept of free power and the lack of private investment in the sector.
Vandrewalla believes the biggest challenge facing the sector is that of commercial issues getting mixed with development issues at the cost of the utilities. Says he, “The power sector should be treated as a service sector. Any utility that does not perform up to the mark should be penalised.”
On the issue of free power, Kawale feels that the concept of free power is a political reality in India, while Vandrewalla quotes a recent study by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), saying, “Farmers don’t want free power, they actually want available, accessible, affordable power,” and hence emphasises the need for innovative packaging of services by both the SEBs and the private players.
Hosted by Ronnie Screwvala, Business Bites is part of the channel’s India Business Report strand. The programme provides an insight into the men and women who shape the Indian economy, and their perspective on where their respective industries are headed.
In the following week, Business Bites will feature Mahindra and Mahindra COO Dr Pawan Goenka and Toyota Kirloskar managing director Atsushi Toyoshima, sharing their views on neck-to-neck competition in the automobile sector and the potential of the SUV segment.
Corporate bigwigs like Nandan Nilekani, Vivek Paul, Uday Kotak, Vijay Mallya and others from the information technology, pharmaceuticals, banking, insurance, and FMCG industries, who featured in the first series of Business Bites broadcast last year, will also be seen on the show.
The programme is produced for BBC World by UTV and sponsored by Tata, HP Gas and the Aditya Birla Group.
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.
