News Broadcasting
Contractual employees of DD News to observe Black Friday
NEW DELHI: The contractual employees of Doordarshan News who have been protesting peacefully by wearing black bands for a salary hike and better working conditions are to observe 5 August as Black Friday.
These employees have been protesting since yesterday by wearing black badges on their arms and will wear black clothes to show solidarity. Almost the entire staff including the packaging, camera section, editors, assignment, anchors, and reporters is part of this peaceful protest.
A senior anchor who did not want to be named said: “The UPA claims to be concerned about the welfare of the common man but we who have been working under this same government have not had a salary hike in the last 3 years. Inflation has risen drastically in this period and monthly expenditure has gone up at least twofold. Some of us have been working here for just Rs 10,000 for the last there years and every month we are given an assurance of a hike but nothing has happened yet”.
Currently, there are close to 350 employees with DD News. None of them are part of any social welfare scheme like medical/life insurance. They do not have the benefit of a Public Provident Fund. Even women employees are not given maternity benefits/leave and their salary is cut when they are on leave for delivery. Contractual employees are also not entitled to any national holidays.
These employees had observed a snap strike at prime time for a few hours earlier this year. Following that, the DD News administration had sent a recommendation to the Prasar Bharati Board for increase in wages. However, no decision has yet been taken, because a Prasar Bharati board member told indiantelevision.com that the attempt was to collate details of contractual employees in all DD channels before taking a decision.
DD News was launched in 2003 and is currently the only bi-lingual 24 hour TV channel on air. The anchor said several questions have been raised from time to time about the quality of news content on the channel, but this exploitation of employees is never put in the public domain. The protest is an effort to awaken the administration to their plight and take concrete steps to improve their quality of life.
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.
