News Broadcasting
High Court asks private news channels to adhere to Olympic telecast rules
NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has asked all private television channels not to violate the guidelines relating to the footage of the ongoing Olympics in Beijing for which the International Olympic Association has given exclusive rights to Prasar Bharati.
Ms Justice Reva Khetrapal noted that the rules were clear that “private channels shall use the footages upto the specified limit of 10 seconds at a time and two minutes per day in their news programmes”. The court said its ruling related to all news channels including those not represented in court.
The order came yesterday in response to a petition filed by Prasar Bharati against news channels run by TV India Ltd, NDTV, Times Now, and others, particular in view of telecast of the opening ceremony.
The public broadcaster has now been asked to file details of the loss it has suffered because of violation by various news channels and claim damages if any.
The Court has listed the matter to come up for further hearing on 26 August by when Prasar Bharati will also file its affidavit as the Olympics are ending on 24 August.
A senior Doordarshan official linked to sports coverage told indiantelevision.com that DD had been monitoring the telecast being done by various news channels directly and through TAM. The official said while the sports channels had generally worked out agreements with DD about sharing signals, the news channels had failed to do so.
DD Counsel Dinkar Kalra told indiantelevision.com that he expects to raise the issue of contempt of court order before the court on 24 August since the news channels have continued to violate yesterday’s order.
The Television News Access Rules framed by the International Olympics Committee say that when exclusive television rights to broadcast the Olympics are granted by the IOC to any organisation for a particular territory, “no other organisation may broadcast sound or images of any Olympic events including sporting action, opening, closing and medal ceremonies, other activities (including training and interviews) which occur at Olympic venues in that territory”.
However, the rules say that in appropriate cases, the IOC may agree with rights holders in their particular territories to issue supplemental news access rules for such territories
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.
