News Broadcasting
Freeview digital service to launch 30 free channe
UNITED KINGDOM : Freeview, the new digital service supported by BBC and Sky will be launched at the end of this month with 30 free channels.
Three-quarters of the country will be able to receive the newly boosted signal from 30 October 2002, says a report in The Guardian. Half of all households will be able to get the service through existing rooftop aerials; a further 25 per cent will require modifications that could cost around 100; the remaining 25 per cent will not be able to receive it until the analogue television service is switched off, it adds.
BBC’s Director of marketing, Andy Duncan believes that the service would be a “fresh start” for digital terrestrial television – multi-channel TV through an aerial, which was marred by collapse of the debt-ridden ITV Digital earlier this year. According to the report the technical problems that dogged ITV Digital have been addressed , number of channels reduced and the signal boosted.
The Freeview consortium – the BBC, Sky and the transmitter company Crown Castle, will launch a 5 million marketing campaign, to win over the cynics . The BBC is also using the launch of Freeview to mount its biggest on-screen promotion for its digital services, asserts the report.
The service which will carry all eight BBC’s services, including BBC3 and BBC4, two children’s channels and BBC News 24, would be easy to understand, says Duncan. BSkyB will provide Sky News, Sky Sports News and Sky Travel. There will be two music channels: one from the Emap media company, and another from MTV, confirms the report.
Negotiations are still under way to fill the remaining slot on the service: one possibility includes a deal with Turner Broadcasting to transmit CNN’s news service at breakfast time, children’s programmes from Boomerang during the day, and Turner Classic Movies in the evenings, says the report.
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.
