News Broadcasting
‘Dil Na Jaane Kyun’ high on Zee’s popular shows
MUMBAI: Dil Na Jaane Kyun, the first leaf out of Zee’s innovative Chausath Panne, which is poised to reach an unexpected climax in a couple of weeks, has climbed to number two in the channel’s top shows.
According to Zee officials and Dil Na.. production house FilmFarm, the show ranks a close second to Astitva – Ek Prem Kahani, the Niki Aneja- Varun Badola starrer. Both shows have consciously kept away from the typical saas-bahu oriented family drama and explore untouched themes. While Astitva probes the relationship between a doctor and a husband who is younger than her, Dil Na dwells on the touching relationship between mother -in-law and daughter-in-law after the son dies.
Sanjay Upadhyaya, who has earlier directed Saaya for Sony, will take over the next edition of Chausath Panne when Dil Na finishes its course. At a party to mark the success of Dil Na, producer Pintoo Guha, who had an eight year stint with UTV before branching out on his own, said the show was initially conceived as a weekly but later adapted to suit the Chausath Panne slot. Zee’s internal research had shown that viewers were now looking for serials with a finite number of episodes, he said.
Zee has now contracted Guha to do some more shows for the channel and Guha believes that although channels may be constrained to slash budgets after the implementation of conditional access, good content will rule programming in the coming months and consequently, channels would be loath to cutting costs at random.
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.
