News Broadcasting
‘Bhagat Singh’ pushes Zee ratings into top 50
MUMBAI: Steady would be the best way to describe it. The inaugural film of Zee TV’s blockbuster block may not have set the TRPs on fire, but The Legend of Bhagat Singh did make it to the top 50 in the ratings just out.
According to research agency TAM, all-India results for the 4+ TG gave Bhagat Singh 38th position on the ratings with a TVR of 3.19 as also the 59th position with a TVR of 2.92. The only other Zee shows that made it to the top 100 are Playwin Lucky 3 which had a TVR of 2.53 and Playwin Super Lotto with a TVR of 2.46.
Zee has only be making sporadic entries in the top 100 shows, with the channel failing to make an entry into last week’s ratings at all. The last time it made a splash in the ratings was on 14 August, when Gadar managed a TVR of 5.05 to slide in at 17 on the ratings charts.
A 3.19 rating might seems rather disappointing considering the intense media interest that went into Zee’s latest strategy to take it back into the reckoning in the Hindi entertainment channel stakes. Add the fact that Rs 330 million is the reported acquisition cost for the first 16 movies that Zee has bought. However, two media buyers that indiantelevision.com spoke took a different line on the matter.
According to Ravi Kiran, GM, Starcom Worldwide, a 3.19 TVR for the first week was not too far off the 4 or thereabouts that he he was expecting. Asked to offer a time frame within which he would make a judgment on whether this strategy was working as pulling in viewers to sample the other fare that Zee had on offer, Kiran said such assessments could only be made in the sixth or seventh week.
Harsha Joshi, senior director, Madison Communications, also voiced similar sentiments saying that the more popular films like Humraaz (the second of Thursday Premiere series) and Mujse Dosti Karoge would probably bring in higher ratings. According to Joshi, once the concept had sunk in, an average rating of at least 7 could be deemed as satisfactory.
Satisfactory maybe, but way off what would be required to shake up the soap queens that are ruling the ratings charts at present.
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.
