News Broadcasting
DSNG gaining popularity for Indian news channels
MUMBAI: Digital Satellite News Gathering (DSNG) is becoming popular for all the news channels in India as the competition is on to be the first to broadcast live.
“Though it is an expensive solution, DSNG is catching on, even in India. The September 11 incident has particularly put news channels on the fast track,” said Digital Broadcast India director (technical) B Sitaram, while speaking at the Broadcast India 2004 Technical Symposium on Tuesday.
There are other options like optical fibre and VSATs which are also being used. “Reliance Infocomm, Tata Indicom and BSNL have laid optic fibre which can be used as news gathering systems. But satellite news gathering is gaining popularity,” said Sitaram.
The advent of efficient digital compression techniques makes it possible to reduce video data to a low volume (from 270 mbps to 1.5-50 mbps). Bandwidth requirement reduces, making it less expensive to gather news through satellite links. “This is the starting point for the popularity of DSNG,” said Sitaram.
“Till a few years back, the transmission of TV signals through satellite was completely in analogue domain. Hence, bandwidth was an issue. Now we have efficient digital compression techniques,” said Sitaram.
There are two frequency of operations in digital satellite news gathering – C-band and Ku-band. In India, the government permitted the use of Ku-band of frequencies for DSNG operations.
“New technologies are evolving, providing cost-effective alternatives. The demand from news channels is also driving down costs,” said Sitaram.
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.
