News Broadcasting
Content Code: Govt to meet broadcasters next week
NEW DELHI: The much delayed Content Code may get a push with the. government slated to hold a meeting with private broadcasters on this next week.
“I am holding a meeting next week and then we will decide,” information and broadcasting minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi said on the sidelines of a book release function.
Dasmunsi said the government needed to study the proposal by the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) about formation of the ‘News Broadcasting Standards (Disputes Redressal) Authority’ to enforce NBA’s code of ethics and broadcasting standards with effect from 2 October. He refused to make any comment on the proposal aimed at self-regulation.
Answering a question, Dasmunsi said the recommendations of Trai on self-regulation by television channels of TV viewership ratings were being studied by the government. However, he said ‘no’ when a mediaperson sought to know whether regulation of content would be given to Trai.
The minister was speaking to the media on the sidelines of a function at which he released two books on revolutionaries and freedom fighters – Khudiram Bose: Revolutionary Extraordinaire (English) written by Dr. Hitendra Patel And Ajeya Krantikari: Rajguru (Hindi) by Anil Verma – which have been published by the Publications Division of the ministry.
Answering another question after the function, Dasmunsi also turned down any proposal to permit private FM channels to broadcast news bulletins, despite a recommendation to that effect by Trai and Ficci.
Meanwhile, he said in reply to a question that he would talk to Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra about the reported attack by Jammu police on two photojournalists of Amar Ujala and JK Channel last night while they were covering the police brutality on Amarnath Sangarsh Samiti activists who were sitting on a dharna along with the body of Kuldeep Dogra who committed suicide yesterday. He said the ministry would make its own inquiry into the incident.
Apart from the minister, others present included I & B Secretary Sushma Singh, Debasis Roy (grand nephew of Khudiram Bose) and Satyasheel Rajguru (nephew of Rajguru).
Publications Division Director Veena Jain said that the recently-launched website of Employment News published by the Division was getting around 300,000 hits everyday. In addition, the popular children’s journal ‘Bal Bharati’ had the largest circulation among children’s journal category and the monthly magazine ‘Yojana’ is the only journal to be published in India in 13 languages.
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.
