News Broadcasting
Cabinet grants 6-month extn on uplink norms
NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: Government today gave another extension of six months to news and current affairs channels to reduce foreign holding to 26 per cent as required by policy on uplinking.
“The policy requires the news channels to adhere to a cap of 26 per cent of FDI and the Indian entity to have not less than 51 per cent. But for a variety of reasons, many existing news channels have not been able to conform to this changed system,” information and broadcasting minister Jaipal Reddy told reporters after a Cabinet meeting here.
It is expected that by the time the government comes out with a comprehensive policy on news channels’ shareholding patterns in six months time, the I&B ministry would have also finalised the proposed uplink and downlink norms.
Reddy said the Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, “gave its last extension of six months from now (till September, 2005)” to show that its structural equity conforms to this regime. “There will be no further extensions,” he assured.
According to him, the companies operating such channels were earlier required to conform to the revised guidelines by March 2004, that is, to restructure their equity to conform to these guidelines.
Interestingly, Zee News is still to restructure itself as being part of the Subhash Chandra-promoted Zee Telefilms makes it have foreign/NRI shareholding that is way above the permissible limit. A senior executive of the network admitted that the company is still in the process of restructuring the shareholding pattern.
The decision for extension of the deadline will give time to the ministry to finalise the proposal to review the uplinking guidelines, Reddy added. But this line has been given every time, three to be precise, an extension has been okayed by the Cabinet.
Meanwhile, Indiantelevision.com’s information is that the government may take a decision on allowing foreign institutional investors (FIIs) having a holding in news channel ventures later this month, which could pave the way for issuing a clarification on the issue relating to uplinking.
Sometime back, Reddy had told journalists during an informal meeting that this ministry has agreed to allow FII investments in news channels as long as it was kept within the total foreign holding cap. However, this decision too needs a Cabinet okay.
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.
