News Broadcasting
Exorbitant fees keep broadcasters away from Asian Games
SINGAPORE: With the Asian Games just nine days away, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) is in the midst of a new problem, this time on the broadcasters’ front.
Two television broadcasters from Singapore have ruled out live coverage of the event, protesting the exorbitant US $ 500,000 quoted as fees by the OCA. Malaysian Television too had threatened not to cover the event till the government intervened and volunteered to foot the bill for the state owned channel.
Reports say broadcasters are primarily protesting OCA’s double standards in charging different rates for selected countries. While Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and Japan are charged a prohibitive US $ 500,000, India paid 50,000 dollars and the Philippines 110,000 dollars, says a report in the Free Press Journal.
“This year the fees to cover the Games were 5,000 per cent higher than previous Games in Bangkok last year”, says a senior Mediacorp executive. Another disappointing revelation is the fact the the Games ,considered to be the Olympics of Asia, does not have a very high viewership , thus scaring away sponsors, says FPJ.
The Asian Games in Busan in South Korea will run from 29 September to 14 October 2002. The number of countries participating in the Games will be a record 44 with a total of 9,887 athletes to be fielded at Asia’s biggest sports event.
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.
