News Broadcasting
High fives for [V] Popstars’ chosen ones
It was a countrywide search and a mega promotion that spread across all the channels in the Star Network, besides both print and public hoarding campaigns. Finally, after a 45-day, six-city search, Channel [V] announced yesterday its “chosen 5” to front the all girl Coke [V] Popstars band.
GIRL POWER: (From left) Pratichee Mohapatra, Seema Ramchandani, Neha Bhasim, Anushka Manchanda, Mahua Kamat.
The five girls who get a shot at fame as India’s Spice Girls are Pratichee Mohapatra, Neha Bhasin, Mahua Kamat, Anushka Manchanda and Seema Ramchandani.
Future episodes of Coke Popstars the series will see the girls training in different areas like modulating their vocal chords, fine tuning their dance skills as well as a health and fitness regime. They will also undergo a complete makeover so that their looks fit their profile.
The name of the group is yet to be decided and model Noyonika Chatterji will manage the band. They will spend several sessions in a studio recording their album, which is due for release sometime towards the end of May.
Javed Akhtar is writing the album lyrics and the music is being composed by eight music directors including Jatin Lalit and Sandeep Chowta, an official release states.
Their first live performance takes place in Mumbai on 26 April.
Pratichee is a Mumbai girl, 24 years old. She has been trained in Hindustani Classical music for over six years.
Delhi girl Neha Bhasin, 19, is a second year student doing her Sociology honors. Her hobbies include dancing and writing songs.
Anushka, is all of 18 and ‘dead serious’ about her career as a musician. She has had little formal training in music even though that did not stop her from learning to play several instruments like the piano, guitar, drums and at the moment she is trying to learn to play the flute!
Seema Ramchandani, 22, is from Pune and a postgraduate diploma holder in school psychology. She comes from a musically inclined family and likes all sorts of music from the romantic Kishore Kumar to the rocking Led Zeppelin.
Mahua Kamat, 20, from Pune and in her Second year B.Com, gave up a year to get into music. She has been training in Hindustani classical music for a very long time. She is greatly influenced by Alanis Morissette, the Cranberries, Tracy Chapman, Dido and lot of R&B, hip-hop, for their rhythmic beats.
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.
