News Broadcasting
Focus Television to showcase world’s prolific serial killers in new show
NEW DELHI: Even as most Hindi news channels and general entertainment channels show crime shows, which are part reality and part fiction, news channel Focus Television is all set to launch a new show that will showcase the world’s most prolific serial killers.
Conceived and directed by Franklin Nigam, the series titled Killer, will be screened from 6 June at 10 pm and will be telecast every Saturday.
In the series, each episode is based on a real case, which is well researched. The series aims to bring out details of crimes that shook the world. The first episode is on an American serial killer Ted Bundy whose charming personality helped him kill more than 100 women.
The show experiments with three anchors coming together in the same frame. Each anchor plays a character on the show, which will highlight the highpoints of those cases and decode the crime for audiences.
The three anchors are: Shishir Sharma, Amit Pachori and Shilpa Gandhi. While Sharma has starred in films like Mary Kom, in Killer he will be seen playing the character of a detective. Pachori, on the other hand, is a seasoned actor and will play an advocate. Gandhi, who is a Marathi film actress, will be playing a psychiatrist in the series.
Nigam, who had earlier worked in Lok Sabha TV, was also a part of the team, which produced the Pradhanmantri series on ABP.
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.
