News Broadcasting
India News launches Punjabi channel, will showcase Punjabiyat
MUMBAI: One of India’s leading media house, iTV Network, has launched India News Punjab in Chandigarh. Formally inaugurated by by the state chief minister Capt. Amarinder Singh, India News Punjab is iTV Network’s first news channel in the regional language.
India News Punjab will showcase current events, news, happenings, sports, art, culture, heritage of Punjab and special programming for farmers.
iTV Network founder & promoter Kartikeya Sharma said, “It’s our first foray into the Punjab region, market is highly cluttered, we will bring revolution by streamlining regional news in Punjabi. We are committed to airing relevant and impactful regional content in Punjabi, allowing us to reach out to Punjabi Diaspora settled across the globe. The channel will showcase the true spirit of Punjabiyat in all its myriad moods.”
With three national news channels, four regional news channels, two newspapers and a number of leading digital assets, iTV Network claims to be India’s fastest growing news network.
India News, a leading national Hindi News Channel of the network, has emerged as a leader in the most competitive genre. NewsX, the national English news channel, has been a trendsetter in the English news genre with its crisp format, direct reportage, pointed debates, trending hash tags and engaging mix of stories.
NewsX HD is a commercial-free news channel and is built for delivering a multiscreen experience on a single screen to the multitasking high profile urban viewers of India. It offers non-stop commercial-free premier news content, including the biggest buzz on the most popular social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram while getting additional feeds like weather, stock indices, etc – all in a seamless experience on one screen.
In a short span of time, India News UP & Uttarakhand, India News Rajasthan, India News Madhya Pradesh & Chhattisgarh and India News Haryana have further strengthened the channel’s dominance in these Hindi speaking regions.
The Sunday Guardian is the finest Sunday newspaper by the network that is sought after by country’s discerning readers for its engaging content and innovative format.
The group also publishes Aaj Samaj, a popular Hindi newspaper that caters to the informed readers in Delhi National Capital Region, Punjab and Haryana. With its innovative approach, extensive research and unbiased outlook, it has managed to stand out in the cluttered news landscape.
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.
