News Broadcasting
Coke upbeat about success of ‘thanda’ TVC
NEW DELHI: Coca Cola claims to have stolen a march over arch rival Pepsi with its new thanda theme TVC yielding much more dividend than anticipated.
Coca Cola India CEO and president Alex Von Behr said at the recent CII-organised marketing summit The Business of Marketing, that Coke’s cool new commercial with Aamir Khan in the lead had a higher recall than Pepsi’s ad featuring superstar Amitabh Bachchan.
Quoting Continuous Consumer Track data culled from small towns and those falling under SEC C & D categories, Behr said that while Coca Cola’s thanda commercial had a recall value of 21.3, that of Pepsi was a mere 8.9 as measured on 10 May this year. On other days too, Coke’s thanda ad was ahead of Pepsi, he claimed. On 15 March, the recall value for Coke’s ad was 0.6, while that of Pepsi’s was 0.5, on 22 March, for Coke it was 2.9, while that of Pepsi was 1.3. Over a period of time, the data shows the recall value of Coke’s ad has been rising, he said.
Dwelling on the juices market, Behr said that teens and young adults (12-29 years) constitute the core of Maaza volumes currently. “However, this is also the core target group for all carbonated drinks too,” he said, adding, “Maaza or any other juice drink as a category can never compete with carbonated drinks in terms of visibility or appeal of proposition (imagery).” That’s why, Behr pointed out, Coca Cola India took the risk to “position Maaza to a target audience that affords better growth prospects.” So, Maaza is being repositioned to target mothers of 7-9 year olds from young adults. The communication strategy is also being changed from a combination of health and fun to friendship moments (between mother and child) with fresh and healthy Maaza, he said.
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.
