News Broadcasting
DD acquires Asian Games telecast rights
NEW DELHI: Indian pubcaster Doordarshan is aggressively attempting to recover dues to shore up its bottomlines, while continuing to programme acquisitions of events held outside India.
The Commonwealth Games 2006 may be appearing a trifle distant, but DD has managed to swing a deal relating to Asian Games.
According to Prasar Bharati CEO KS Sarma, DD has acquired exclusive telecast rights of the Asian Games, to be held in Doha, for $ 400,000.
“Last time we had paid about $ 350,000 and the hike in the rights prices of Asian Games looks reasonable, unlike Commonwealth Games, for us,” he added.
DD may have acquired the Asian Games, but its marketing still remains open to criticism.For example, in the case of Olympics, while world over TV networks made money through telecast, DDs outflow was more than inflow of money.
NOTICES TO TV CHANNELS ON OLYMPICS FOOTAGES
That there is a bid to improve revenue collection comes through clearly from the news that DD has sent notices to most private sector satellite news channels to pay up for excess footages of Olympics used by them. Reason: DD had acquired the exclusive rights for the India region.
According to Sarma,We have asked the private TV channels to pay up by 31 March,2005 as the channels concerned have used excess of footage of the Olympics than what is allowed as per international norms for free use.”
The total amount due to DD, or being sought to be recovered from private TV news channels, amounts to Rs 7 million.
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.
