News Broadcasting
DD may use NSS satellite for DTH
NEW DELHI: Even as Indian pubcaster Doordarshan is fine-tuning its act to launch its proposed KU-band direct-to-home (DTH) television service via a non-Indian satellite early June, the Subhash Chandra-promoted Zee Telefilms is the only private sector broadcaster to have offered at least five of its channels to DD’s DTH platform on mutually agreed upon commercial terms.
“We are in the process of giving finishing touches to the DTH service, but it does not look like going on air before end of May or early June as the transponders have not been made available to us yet,” Prasar Bharati CEO KS Sarma told indiantelevision.com, adding though an agreement with the Indian Space Research Organisation has been signed for transponder space on Insat satellites.
Though Sarma refused to spell out the details of the transponders, Prasar Bharati sources indicated that DD’s DTH services is likely to be beamed initially via a New Skies Satellites (NSS)-owned ‘bird’ for which the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is negotiating for transponder capacity.
This has been necessitated as ISRO does not have additional and adequate transponder capacity on its exiting satellites, which are marketed under the brand name Insat. NSS is a Netherlands-headquartered satellite company and in recent times has been targeting the Indian market aggressively.
DD plans to launch its DTH service with a bouquet of 30-odd channels, out which 20 would be DD’s own, while the rest private ones. The aim is to make the DD platform attractive enough for viewers by including some mass-based entertainment channels (like Star Plus, Sony, Sahara Manoranjan and Zee TV), even though the DTH service from the pubcaster is primarily targeted at those areas initially where cable and terrestrial TV signals are difficult to receive.
Though Prasar Bharati has sent feelers to private broadcasters like Star India and Sony Entertainment TV India, it is Zee Telefilms that has got back to the pubcaster saying that it is not averse to offering channels on mutually agreeable commercial terms.
“Prasar Bharati wrote to us and we said five free to air channels from the bouquet could be made available for DD’s DTH service on commercial terms,” a senior executive of Zee Telefilms told indiantelevision.com.
The Zee channels that have been offered — subject to conclusion of revenue sharing deals — include two Etc channels, the newly-launched religious channel Jagaran, Zee Music and Smile TV (a channel showcasing comedy-based soaps and films on Zee’s own DTH service).
Pointing out that other pay channels like the bouquet flagship Zee TV could not be offered as DD’s DTH platform will not be a paid encrypted service, the Zee executive added, “If they insist, we can add Zee News to the offer list.”
When asked about Zee’s offer, Sarma refused to make any comments, saying no deals have been signed yet. However in the past, he had indicated that Zee’s Dish TV DTH service has included DD channels in the package without paying Prasar Bharati any money for the same — an issue that he said would be taken up with the Zee management.
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.
