News Broadcasting
DD forays into supernatural territory with ‘Aap Beeti’
Doordarshan is shedding its image of a do-gooder pubcaster that has always scored the lowest on the vulgarity and violence front.
Beginning tonight, the national network is getting its hands into the blood and gore business when it starts the telecast of horror serial Aap Beeti, in the Saturday prime time slot. From the BR Chopra stables, Aap Beeti is directed by Ravi Chopra. The production house confirms that the serial is the first in the supernatural genre to hit DD1. Each story in the serial will be spread over two episodes, which will be aired in the 9:30 – 10:30 pm slot.
Aap Beeti is being pegged as a serial about “man’s encounter with spirits”. Doordarshan, under the leadership of CEO Anil Baijal, has apparently come to the conclusion that it will have to follow winning formulae that have been a hit with satellite channels if it has to retain its hold on viewers. The pubcaster has seen a good response to Shaktimaan, its fantasy series, and Suraag the detective serial over the last one year, and had recently asked private producers to come up with shows in several genres. Aap Beeti seems to be the first step in the direction.
Its social service mould has thus far held DD back from going in for overtly violent programming. In fact, a 1998 study conducted by the Centre for Advocacy and Research has pointed out that among the five channels surveyed, 759 distinct acts of violence were observed over a period of nine days. ‘In proportion to the hours monitored Zee had the highest acts of violence and DD1 had the lowest’, the study says.
Satellite channels have had X-Zone and Anhonee on Zee which together had 118 or 53 and 65 acts of violence respectively, according to the study. Aahat, the hit horror serial on Sony had 13 acts of violence while Kohra on Star Plus had 30 acts of violence in a single episode. However, DD had its own share of blame. The child specific Shaktimaan had 17 acts of violence in a single episode, the study says.
Aap Beeti will try to get more eyeballs by putting up contests for viewers and giving away gold coins and other goodies as gifts, according to the production house.
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.
