News Broadcasting
Fifa’s marketing agency Infront to donate public viewing revenues from 2006 World Cup to charity
MUMBAI: When football fans in Germany enjoy the matches of the 2006 Fifa World Cup on giant screens, SOS Children’s Villages will benefit too.
Infront Sports and Media, which handles the marketing of the broadcast rights to the 2006 Fifa World Cup, will donate all the broadcast license fee income generated from commercial public viewing activities in Germany to SOS Children’s Villages, Fifa’s adopted charity. A special World Cup charitable campaign has been set up called Six Villages for 2006.
When the final draw was announced a few days ago Infront’s donation approached 250.000 Euros in fee income from this category.
Infront executive director Günter Netzer says, “We hope that we will be able to double this amount before the opening ceremony. With the amount already announced, it will be possible to build a family home in one of the six villages and to secure its regular maintenance for five years.”
Netzer added, “As Fifa’s exclusive television partner, we are very happy to support Fifa’s chosen charity; also the official charity campaign of the 2006 Fifa World Cup. Our donation is linked to the enthusiasm of Germany’s football fans and I hope that the joy and the fun of the World Cup will contribute to the happiness of the future inhabitants of the six new SOS Children’s Villages.”
SOS Children’s Villages worldwide secretary Georg Willeit says. “We are delighted to have supporters like Günter Netzer and Infront and we hope that their engagement gives a positive signal towards other companies involved in the World Cup.”
As an expression of gratitude Willeit handed over a picture of the SOS Children’s Villages in Dong Hoi, Vietnam, to Netzer. This village is one of the Six Villages for 2006 and the only one where construction has been finished. While the Final Draw takes place in Leipzig, the children will be moving into the Dong Hoi facilities.
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.
