News Broadcasting
IBF discusses TRAI, cable price freeze
NEW DELHI: The Indian Broadcasters Forum (IBF) today held a preliminary discussions here ahead of its board meeting tomorrow and discussed various
industry-related issues, including developments on the government-mandated regulatory body, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
Pointing out that the IBF has prepared a draft paper for TRAI, as part of a consultation and views-exchanging process, Foundation sources indicated that the matter of freezing of cable prices as on 26 December by the regulator too came up for discussion.
Not saying directly that some broadcasters had floated a proposal on challenging the TRAI order on prices, the sources did admit that various options were talked about, but no final view has been taken yet as the president of the organisation (Prasar Bharati CEO K.S. Sarma) was not present at todays meeting. Sarma is scheduled to return to India after an official tour of the UK and the US early Tuesday.
IBF is an apex body of foreign and domestic broadcasting companies operating in India. In the past, members of the organisation have had different stand on contentious issues and there have been instances when during industry presentations, the president and others have publicly differed on matters like CAS.
However, an IBF member said that as an individual (broadcaster), people are free to take decisions whether a TRAI order should be legally challenged or a more friendly approach has to be adopted vis-?-vis the new regulator.
Technically, a TRAI order has to be first challenged in TDSAT, a tribunal set up for this purpose, before moving the courts.
The price freeze issue has thrown up a unique situation where one of the pay broadcasters, ESPN-Star Sports, does not get affected by the TRAI order, while others do. Since ESPN and Star Sports had increased its prices early December, on the cut-off day, its new price (varying between Rs. 32 and Rs. 37.90, depending on the deal agreed upon with the cable industry) would be technically taken as prevalent.
The draft paper prepared by IBF, which is likely to be submitted to TRAI after some more fine-tuning, dwells on various matters related to the industry, including the controversial and contentious issue of conditional access system (CAS).
One of the main concerns of IBF members is that though technically TRAI has not put a stop to the rollout of CAS in South Delhi, in deference to the Delhi high court that has said till 5 April the situation should be reviewed, the cable fraternity is half-heartedly pushing the boxes in Delhi.
If the MSOs and cable ops gets aggressive, things may become tricky. Since no agreements for CAS-enabled zone(s) has been signed by MSOs or cable operators with most broadcasters yet, the latter has to decide what would be their move if the cable fraternity gets aggressive on CAS front again.
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.
