News Broadcasting
DD News plan dumped after Swaraj says no
NEW DELHI: The much-touted revival of Doordarshan’s News channel has finally been put on the backburner.
According to sources in Prasar Bharati, which oversees the functioning of DD and All India Radio, the plan of reviving the defunct DD News has been “buried” for the time being. Although the official reason being bandied about is that “reviving DD News was more of a media wish,” the real reason seems to be that the information and broadcasting ministry (read minister Sushma Swaraj) put her foot down on any such move.
However, it is also a fact that both the chief executive and director-general of DD had said on record that Prasar Bharati was considering a revival of DD News. So much so, that a tentative date for the re-launch (DD’s birthday on 15 September) too had been zeroed down upon.
DD News was started over two years ago with much fanfare during Pramod Mahajan’s tenure as the I&B minister. The channel was closed down almost 18 months later on 26 January, 2002 on the ground that it had become a money guzzler.
Meanwhile, with the influx of new recruits at DD, who now do most of the anchoring and reporting on the news front, the pubcaster may see the exit of some senior people, including its main anchor Rahul Dev, a former resident editor of Jansatta, who has also spent time at satellite Hindi news channel Aaj Tak. According to the market buzz Dev has opened up talks with a private satellite news channel.
However, Prasar Bharati insiders insist that the newcomers at DD are still raw and may not be able to adequately do half-hour current affairs shows or newsfeatures at the moment.
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.
