News Broadcasting
HBO lines up Oscar movie bonanza and special Valentine fare
MUMBAI: Star Movies may have a lock on the Oscars ceremony, but rival HBO is not letting that get in the way of its annual movie blitz leading up to Hollywood’s big night.
Counting down to the Oscar night on 29 February, HBO will be featuring Hollywood movies that have won or have been nominated for Academy Awards under the tag line -The Greatest To The Latest.
Starting 3 February till the Oscar Award ceremony, the channel will air an Academy Award winning movie every night, Monday to Thursday, at 9 pm followed immediately by an Academy Award nominee in the HBO Movie Marathon.
Saturday Night Blockbusters on HBO include the blockbuster movie, Training Day on 7 February, starring Denzel Washington. The movie bagged the Oscar in the Best Actor category. On Valentine’s day the channel will air a suspense-thriller Valentine starring Denise Richards on 14 February.
Action packed no-brainer The Scorpion King starring WWE muscleman The Rock is scheduled to air on 21 February.
On 28 February, the channel will air Pay It Forward starring Kevin Spacey and Helen Hunt.
n 14 February, HBO has special plans to celebrate Valentines Day. The channel has lined up six romantic movies back to back. Starting 8:15 am, the channel will air Brendan Fraser and Alicia Silverstone starrer Blast From The Past , Head Over Heels, Sweet November, Three To Tango starring Neve Campbell and Matthew Perry, Mannequin On The Move and Notting Hill starring Julia Roberts and Huge Grant .
The channel will air Hollow Man on 1 February, The Muse starring Sharon Stone and Andie MacDowell on 8 February as a part of the HBO Superstar Sundays specials. On 15 February, the channel will air Harrison Ford and Brad Pitt starrer The Devils Own followed by action hero Arnold Schwarzenegger The 6th Day on 22 February. Last in the line is in Dangerous Liasions starring Glenn Close, Michelle Pfeiffer and Uma Thurman on 29 February.
Besides the on-air special, the channel will be celebrating the selection of HBO original movie – The Laramie Project. as the movie for opening night premiere at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. Starring Christina Ricci, Steve Buscemi and Laura Linney, the movie recreates the efforts of a New York theatre troupe to shed light on a western town’s loss of innocence following a hate crime perpetrated on a 21-year-old University of Wyoming student.
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.
