News Broadcasting
FremantleMedia takes the ‘The IT Crowd’ online & mobile
MUMBAI: FremantleMedia Licensing Worldwide (FLW) has partnered with UK’s Channel 4 to provide exclusive content for mobile and online platforms for the new comedy series, The IT Crowd.
For the first time in Channel 4’s history, UK-based internet users can now watch full-length episodes of The IT Crowd one week before transmission by logging on to http://www.channel4.com/itcrowd.
Fans will also be able to download clips, outtakes and behind-the-scenes footage to their mobile phones via Channel 4’s mobile portal, which can be accessed simply by texting “Mobile” to 83188. Content has been edited and encoded for both online and mobile delivery by Mobile Interactive Group, the global multimedia mobile services provider.
FremantleMedia Licensing Worldwide UK vice president licensing Dom Wheeler said, “This is a first in the history of Channel 4 and a very important step for taklbackTHAMES and FremantleMedia. New media platforms are an increasingly important way for consumers to interact with our programmes and we look forward to working with Channel 4 on many more of our hit shows in the future.”
The IT Crowd is the latest highly-anticipated comedy offering from talkbackTHAMES, one of the UK production companies owned by FremantleMedia. Written and directed by Graham Linehan and produced by Ash Atalla, The IT Crowd is about an IT department – Roy (Chris O’Dowd), Jen (Katherine Parkinson) and Moss (Richard Ayoade) – who work in the basement of Reynholm Industries while their beautiful colleagues work upstairs in modern, sophisticated surroundings. Filmed in front of a live studio audience, The IT Crowd is a surreal look at the underclass of a company.
The IT Crowd premiered with a double bill on Channel 4 last Friday attracting 1.8 million viewers. Fremantle International Distribution, the distribution arm of FremantleMedia, will be distributing The IT Crowd worldwide and will launch the new comedy at MIPTV 2006, where it will feature within an exciting slate of programming.
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.
