News Broadcasting
CAS Bill not listed for tabling in RS this week
NEW DELHI: The much-awaited Cable Networks (Regulations) Amendment Bill 2002, which aims at facilitating addressability in Indian cable homes through conditional access system (CAS), has not been listed in the agenda of business of the Indian Parliament’s Upper House (Rajya Sabha) for this week.
Parliament, which reconvened today for the Winter Session, saw discussions on elections in the the strife-torn Gujarat state dominate the proceedings in the Lower House (Lok Sabha). The Rajya Sabha was adjourned as obituaries were read out, including that relating to media baron and Hindi-language newspaper Jagaran owner Narendra Mohan (a vocal supporter of FDI in the print medium) who died recently and was a sitting rajya Sabha MP.
Government officials told indiantelevision.com today that CAS, a matter that could not get RS’ approval during the last session of Parliament due to its controversial nature, is not likely to be moved this week by the information and broadcasting ministry. Every ministry has a pre-determined day when issues relating to it are discussed in the two Houses of the Parliament. I&B ministry’s day in RS happens to be Monday.
Will CAS be listed in RS next week? “We are not sure. It depends on I&B ministry and minister Sushma Swaraj,” was the vague reply given by a government official when quizzed on the issue.
While the Lok Sabha has okayed the amendments to the Act facilitating CAS, RS members have shown more resilience and have refused to give a green signal before a proper discussion on the issue. Swaraj, who had earlier claimed some consensus on the matter, these days is noncommittal. “Let us say there is a broad agreement (on CAS),” she had said during an interaction with journalists last month on the occasion of the completion of three years (out of the mandated five) of the government.
When indiantelevision.com spoke to some RS members of Parliament from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Congress — two main opponents to the smooth passage of the CAS — last week, they opined, in private, that left to themselves, they ideally would like to have some discussion on CAS before okaying it.
During the last session of Parliament, CAS was listed on the agenda of the RS and later, because of apparent opposition from the Opposition members, had to be delisted in a bid to arrive at an out-of-Parliament consensus.
Moreover, the issue of pricing of the basic tier of cable service, consisting of all free-to-air channels, is yet to be sorted out. At a recent meeting of the costing committee for CAS, which includes government as well as industry representatives, there was no unanimity on the price of the basic tier.
The cable operators have been lobbying for the price to be in the range of Rs 125-150 per month per subscriber, but have indicated that an Rs 100 figure is something they can live with. This, of course, includes the Rs 30 flat service charge the government will extract per subscriber. The government (read the finance ministry), however, appears to have settled for an Rs 70 to 80 rate as being reasonable. Subtract the Rs 30 tax and what the cable ops have in hand per subscriber will be Rs 40 to 50. The viewers, of course, think that both the government and the industry are taking them for a ride.
At a seminar on pay channels and CAS, organised by the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA) in Delhi last week, the response from some residents welfare associations (RWAs) was lukewarm – over 400 were invited and some 40 turned up – and those who did came down heavily on cable operators “for raising prices every three-four months.”
When it was told to RWA representatives that CAS would solve much of their problems, the counter poser was it did not make sense for an average cable consumer to invest in the set-top boxes no matter how cheap they came. “Why should we (invest in STBs)?” was the question that reverberated throughout the seminar.
Global hardware manufacturers like Philips and Thomson too, are not much enthused. A senior executive of Philips said, “The way (the) government is going, CAS may just end up as a bad piece of legislation leaving everybody unhappy.” He also pointed out that hardware manufacturers like Philips don’t see enough volumes being generated even if CAS is implemented for them to start manufacturing in India resulting in a fall in STB costs.
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.
