News Broadcasting
Endemol announces deal with Hong Kong broadcasters
MUMBAI: Television format creator and distributor Endemol has announced its first ever license deals in Hong Kong. The two main broadcasters in the territory have bought game shows.
Asia Television (ATV) has ordered over 60 episodes of 1 vs. 100. The show is due to launch at the end of September and will run initially as weekly specials then as daily shows.
The series will have attached to it a range of digital media applications including a fully interactive 3G TV game – the first time this has been done in the region.
Over on Television Broadcasts (TVB), more than 50 episodes of Deal or No Deal are due to run as weekly shows launching in early October. The deals will see both series also broadcast into southern Chinese Cantonese provinces, Guangdong and Guangxi.
Endemol International’s Licensing Manager, Asia Julian Curtis says, “This is the first time Endemol has sold its shows into Hong Kong and it’s great to have secured deals with both broadcasters at once.”
1 vs. 100 has now been sold to 11 countries worldwide including US broadcaster NBC and the UK where it will launch on BBC One later this year.
Endemol says, Deal or No Deal has been picked up by over 45 countries including NBC in the US and in the UK where Channel 4 have signed a two year deal.
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.
