News Broadcasting
DD to showcase ‘Meeting a Milestone’ on Ustad Bismillah Khan
MUMBAI: As a mark of respect following the demise of Indian classical music legend and Bharat Ratna recipient Ustad Bismillah Khan, national network Doordarshan is paying tributes to the maestro by telecasting a documentary Sangemeel Se Mulaquat (Meeting a Milestone).
DD will air the documentary tonight at 10 pm. The 90-minute film has been produced by National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), with direction and photography by Gautam Ghose. It is in Hindi and Urdu, informs an official statement.
The shehnai (Indian wind instrument) maestro passed away of heart failure today. The government has declared a day of national mourning.
The national flag flew at half-mast at government buildings while schools and government offices were closed in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, where Ustad Khan lived and passed away in his hometown of Varanasi.
According to the statement, in view of this, the programmes scheduled earlier against the aforesaid time slots 10 pm to 11:30 pm on DD-1 will not be telecast. The Bioscope: serialized feature film Gautam Govinda (Part-1) will air at 11:30 pm on DD tonight.
Born on 21 March, 1916, into a family of court musicians, Ustad Khan started training at the age of six. A high point in his career was when he played shehnai at Delhi’s Red Fort on the eve of India’s Independence in 1947.
Ustad Khan was admitted to hospital last week after he complained of weakness.
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.
