News Broadcasting
CNN-IBN joins hands with The Telegraph to present ‘Lal Salaam at 30’
MUMBAI: CNN-IBN has joined hands with The Telegraph to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Left Front rule in West Bengal through a number of special stories Lal Salaam at 30, an opinion poll and a panel discussion on the various facets and developments that have taken place under the Left Front rule since 1977.
CNN-IBN and The Telegraph alliance will entail exercising the editorial and marketing synergies between the organisations. The publication will carry regular stories reflecting the mood of the people as revealed through the opinion poll and special debate conducted by CNN-IBN.
As part of the celebration, the channel will air a one-hour special panel discussion and opinion poll results on the Left front governance on 21 June at 9:30 pm.
The opinion poll and special debate being conducted as a part of the series are aimed at providing an analysis of the state’s Left Front administration. The panel discussion, held in Kolkata will reveal the findings of the opinion poll conducted by AC Nielsen on various aspects of the Left Front regime in West Bengal that has persisted, for the last three decades.
The poll attempts to answer questions relating to the state government’s performance.
Speaking on the tie-up CNN-IBN and IBN 7 director marketing and online projects Dilip Venkatraman said, “CNN-IBN in joining hands with The Telegraph and the Ananda Bazaar Patrika Group of publications has created a powerful alliance to bring viewers and readers a short, but riveting series analysing the Left Front government’s performance since the past 30 years. I am confident this partnership will prove beneficial to all parties and pave the way for other such endeavours in the future.”
“This partnership has meant the merging of both editorial and marketing resources between the media brands, which has translated into in-depth coverage on the left front rule in the state on the occasion of their 30th anniversary. We are delighted to have worked with CNN-IBN on this initiative,” added The Telegraph president Amitabha Datta.
“To complete 30 years of rule in a single state is by no means a small feat. Lal Salaam at 30 is our recognition of this milestone while simultaneously analysing the corollary of the same,” said CNN-IBN and IBN 7 editor-in-chief Rajdeep Sardesai.
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.
