News Broadcasting
B’lore TV screens go blank as cable ops lock horns with power company
BANGALORE: Television screens across Bangalore went blank yesterday (15 July) after cable operators called for an indefinite strike protesting the Bangalore Electric Supply Company’s (Bescom) “indiscriminate” cutting of cable wires.
Bescom had gone on a “cable-cutting spree” following the tragic death on Monday of a seven-year-old city boy Anish, who accidentally came into contact with a loosely hung live wire.
Bescom is responsible for power distribution in the six districts of Karnataka. The company justified its actions saying it didn’t want such a tragedy repeated.
As per media repots, 7 year old Anish, who was to leave for the US on Friday (16 July), was electrocuted just yards from his house when he came in contact with a live wire. Hed gone to buy a packet of biscuits from a shop across the road.
The cable wire was energized on the 8th Cross, off 10th Main, in Indiranagar II Stage. As per initial reports, Bescom said that technical investigations were hampered as evidences at the accident spot were tampered with. They claim that by the time they reached the spot, the police had dismantled and removed the television cable along with other loose wires. The police deny this saying that the wires were removed by Bescom personnel.
As the fault lies with the present system of pole hiring for cables not stressing on the identification of wires, no one is willing to take responsibility for the death. Bescom may have no evidence to support its charges against cable operators because of this.
Experts say that Bescom did not carry out any inspection after granting a license to instal/lay cables. And there hasn’t been any check also from the company’s part to see if cable wires are restricted to the areas for which the license has been granted, they allege.
“Without even proving that the wire through which the accident occurred was a cable TV one, they just went on cutting our property. The cable could have been an Internet or even telecom cable,” said Karnataka State Cable TV Operators Association spokesperson Sudhish Kumar.
Approximately 1,200 cable operators have threatened to black out all channels unless a list of demands is met, the main one being that Bescom compensate operators for the cables they have cut. Other demands include a stay on the ongoing cable-cutting and the regularisation of the cables, which are already laid/installed.
Reports quote General Manager (Technical), Bescom general manager (technical) AN Ramanujam as saying, “We don’t know what is legal and what is not. Cable operators must come and inform us which cable is authorized. What compensation are they talking about? They have used our poles illegally. If we yield to their demands, Bangalore will have many more Anishs dying.”
Anish’s family refused to accept the compensation of Rs 100,000 offered by Bescom saying, “Whatever happened to our son should not be repeated with any other children.”
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.
