News Broadcasting
DD to begin narrowcasting tomorrow
MUMBAI: Doordarshan is commencing the broadcast of locally relevant programmes, popularly known as ‘narrowcasting’, beginning 29 October.
The programmes will be originated and telecast from 12 selected Low Power Transmitters (LPT)s spread across the country, according to the pubcaster. The narrowcasting service at Palakkad in Kerala will be inaugurated tomorrow by the Minister of State for Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation, O Rajgopal. The second service from Amalapuram in Andhra Pradesh will be dedicated to the public by the Minister of State for Railways, Mr. Bandaru Dattatreya. Services in Bellary (Karnataka) and Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu) will commence from 31 October and those at Hissar (Haryana) and Nainital (Uttaranchal) from 1 November, according to an official release.
Ferozepur & Patiala (Punjab), Sagar (MP), Akola (Maharashtra), Hazaribag (Jharkhand) and Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh are the other centers covered in the first of phase of narrowcasting experiment.
At present Doordarshan originates and telecasts its programmes at national, regional and local levels through the National Network, Regional Networks and Programme Generating Facilities (PGF). While the National and Regional language channels run round the clock, the PGF stations originate programmes to a limited area for a short duration of time.
Doordarshan’s network of LPTs cover a radius of an average of 15 kms of the area. The programmes produced for narrowcasting will contain segments on agriculture and rural development, education, health etc. They will be half an hour programmes telecast at time suitable to the targeted viewers, says the release.
Originally, the programmes were proposed to be produced by Agricultural Universities or State Departments of Agriculture. The regional DDKs were to provide training to ensure technical and aesthetic quality. A Memorandum of Understanding was circulated to the agricultural universities in the service areas. The project however did not materilise as the agricultural universities were neither equipped nor had funds and trained personnel to take up the production work on their own, says the release.
Subsequently, it was proposed that the production would be taken up by the DDKs using available resources and staff. The programmes would now be produced specifically keeping the targeted area in mind, in collaboration with the agricultural universities and state departments of agriculture. In the meantime, efforts are on to empower the universities to take up production on their own in the days to come.
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.
