News Broadcasting
Geo TV blacked out by Pemra
MUMBAI: In April, this year, Pakistan’s popular television channel, Geo TV’s news anchor Hamid Mir was attacked. The channel believed and linked the country’s intelligence agency, Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), to the attack.
Since then, the channel has been entangled with a defamation row with ISI. However, things took an ugly turn when Pakistan’s Electronic Media Regularity Authority (Pemra) suspended the licence of the TV station for 15 days.
In a statement, Pemra said that they had made the decision following a complaint against Geo TV filed by the Defence Ministry.
Pemra said it “took a strong notice of violations committed” by the channel and “unanimously decided” immediately to suspend its licence in addition to imposing a 10 million Pakistani rupees ($100,000) fine.
It added that if the fine was not paid before the end of the suspension period, the channel would remain off air.
As per various reports, even before Friday’s (6 June) suspension, Geo News and its sister channels were off air in much of Pakistan as cable operators had pulled them off, under pressure from the military.
However, Geo argues that it has already publicly apologised to the ISI for its coverage and hence the ban is unfair.
The move has been criticised not only by the media fraternity in the country but internally as well.
On its website, Geo TV has carried a report on what Amnesty International said on the matter. The statement read: “The Pakistani government’s suspension of Geo TV, the country’s largest private broadcaster, is a politically motivated attack on freedom of expression and the media.”
“The suspension of Geo TV is a serious attack on press freedom in Pakistan. It is the latest act in an organised campaign of harassment and intimidation targeting the network on account of its perceived bias against the military,” said Amnesty International’s Asia director Richard Bennett.
In a report released on 30 April, Amnesty International had documented how media professionals in the country live under constant threat of harassment, violence and killings from a range of state and non-state factors.
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.
