News Broadcasting
Cabinet clears decks for must provide law
NEW DELHI: The Union cabinet today approved the promulgation of an ordinance making it compulsory for private broadcasters to share the feed of sporting events of national importance (read cricket) with the public broadcaster.
The move comes in the wake of the refusal by India cricket rights holder Nimbus to share the live feed of recently held matches with national broadcaster Doordarshan.
Additionally, a Bill will be introduced in the coming Session of Parliament to replace the ordinance by an Act of Parliament.
“The Sports Broadcasting Signals (Mandatory Sharing with Prasar Bharati) Ordinance, 2007 will make it obligatory on every content right owner and TV and Radio broadcasting service provider to share the live telecast signals without its advertisement, for such sporting events as may be prescribed by the Central Government, with the public service broadcasters on such terms and conditions as may be specified,” a posting on the government’s Press Information Bureau website says.
“This Ordinance would provide access to the largest number of listeners and viewers, on a free to air basis, of sporting events of national importance whether held in India or abroad,” it adds.
At a briefing this evening, information and broadcasting minister PR Dasmunsi expressed the hope that the ordinance would be notified before the start of the coming India-Sri Lanka series on 8 February, newswire Press Trust of India has reported.
Nimbus, while welcoming the approval of the ordinance, has threatened to go to court if it would mean telecasting feed on DD’s DTH platform, PTI adds.
An expert committee has been set up in the I&B ministry to look into the issue of encryption, an official told indiantelevision.com.
This will have to be sent to the law ministry and their approval procured so that it becomes water tight and face little legal and political challenge, in the court or in Parliament itself, from opposition benches, the official said.
The Downlinking Guidelines of the government will form the body of the ordinance, though the words will be framed in the form of a statute.
Sources said that the wording as such is ready and Dasmunsi, who had been incensed with Nimbus getting away with the live telecast of the current ODI series without sharing its live feed with DD, had been the trigger.
Dasmunsi, however, had to wait to place this with the cabinet and seek its formal announcement. This is what the cabinet today decided: that now there is no option but to go for the harsh measure of promulgating an ordinance.
The government’s decision will ensure viewers in non-cable houses and radio listeners would receive live feed of Indian team’s one-day matches, wherever it plays. However, for test matches, the government has said live feed would be required only for those matches played in India and highlights would do for the others.
As a sop to private broadcasters, Dasmunsi has said a technical committee would look into the matter of encrypting the signals being telecast by Doordarshan, which would ensure that the feed is not pirated by broadcasters outside India.
Earlier in the day, government officials present at the inauguration of the three-day Broadcast Engineering Society Expo 2007 in the capital had told indiantelevision.com that the ministry had come precariously close even earlier to issuing an ordinance ensuring live feed for cricket events in India involving the national team.
“I think it is because of the court case and ruling on seven minutes delay that the legal experts suggested we don’t go against the ruling, but bring in the bill and settle the issue for once and all, but the anger in the ministry is huge,” a senior official had revealed at the time, naturally asking not to be quoted.
Giving a not so subtle threat to “broadcasters for not falling in line”, he suggested that this would mean that the minister and the officials may not make it easy for whoever has been hoping for a less ‘draconian’ broadcasting bill.
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.
