News Broadcasting
“Govt. should come up with clear, transparent security clearance guidelines:” Dr Subhash Chandra
MUMBAI: The growing number of television channels and the recent debate over the security clearance of Kalanithi Maran owned Sun TV Network has led the ‘Big Daddy’ of Indian television to come out and speak about ownership and security guidelines of the mushrooming channels.
Essel Group chairman Dr Subhash Chandra said, “From the beginning, I have been of the view, which I mentioned during the UPA 1 regime to Priyaranjan Das Munshi and Dr. Manmohan Singh that licences should not be issued without proper checks.”
According to Chandra, news channel licences should be scrutinized in the manner that the Reserve Bank of India scrutinizes applications before issuing any licence in financial service. “They go to the extent of finding out the ultimate source of funding as well as cleanliness of people involved and check them out before issuing licence,” he informed.
Chandra has been actively speaking about having a strict and clear guideline before issuing licences from 2001-2006. “But because no one was listening to my point of view, I decided to then remain dormant and listen to the government’s point of view,” he laughed off.
Ten days ago, Chandra had tweeted rather sensationally saying, “I will not be surprised if for some TV stations, the final money is coming from Dawood Ibrahim.” He feels that the system prevalent currently doesn’t go even one layer beyond what the person has submitted.
The minimum amount required for starting a news channel today is Rs 5 crore. “As per the guidelines today, the check is done on the person submitting the money. No one tries finding out where the money is coming from. This is eroding our credibility as media,” he said.
Chandra is of the opinion that the time has come to have strict, clear and transparent guidelines, which will expose the corporate veil and go to the real source of funding. “The government is not doing anything on the issue of media ownership and then says that all media is wrong,” he added.
Pointing out that no one so far has debated on the issue, he said, “I want the debate to be triggered and then the decision can be taken collectively.”
Calling out to the government to check entities through clear guidelines, he said, “Those who are clean will come out clean, but the government hasn’t checked anyone. We are open to such scrutiny ourselves.”
Stressing on the fact that not having clear security guidelines compromises with the national and economic security, Chandra said, “I want to see clean money coming into the sector.”
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.
