News Broadcasting
Channel7 claims ‘7Special’ powers to top position
MUMBAI: Channel7, the latest entrant in the Hindi news channel space, has claimed that its news& current affairs show programme 7Special has made an entry in the list of Top 10 news programme.
An official release has quoted Tam ratings for the week 38, C&S Males 15+ Sec ABC in the Hindi speaking markets (HSM), for the time band 2 pm to 4 pm, to assert that the show helped the channel to notch up a channel share of 26.8 per cent ahead of market leader Aaj Tak’s 22.4 per cent.
Star News recorded 18.5 per cent, followed by Zee News’ 13.5 per cent and NDTV India’s 8.9 per cent.
Channel7 COO Piyush Jain says, “Achieving this number 1 position has been the crowning moment in the project’s lifecycle. Especially since this wasn’t some provocative sting operation, not an exclusive investigation, not a big budget show, but simply a case of quality, compelling coverage of a public domain event, which all competitors were addressing with equal fervour, but the viewers, preferred Channel 7 across the nation.”
Jagran Group editor and group CEO Sanjay Gupta says, “The last five weeks have been particularly rewarding as the channel has shown a phenomenal growth rate of almost 80 per cent. A rate that is far higher than the genre growth or that shown by any of the existing players, that too on a healthy viewer base. It’s a tribute to our credible content, quality production and international packaging and ability to present exclusive and breaking news regularly.”
The official release states that the distribution, widely acknowledged as the Achilles heel of broadcasting industry. has been tackled and Channel7 boasts connectivity into 80 per cent of the north-west-east market, ensuring Channel7 a healthy reach and competitive opportunity to deliver to its viewers compelling content.
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.
