News Broadcasting
India TV freshens its look, strengthens editorial team
MUMBAI: It has been ten years since India TV has been present in the Hindi news genre and now it has decided to ramp itself up, five years after the previous touch up. The channel has got a brand new logo that will be aired from Monday, 16 December.
It was only a few weeks ago that India TV brought on board veteran journalist Q W Naqvi as its editorial director. Now, the news channel is making its editorial team even stronger ahead of the 2014 General Elections.
The channel has brought Amitabh, who has been with Aaj Tak since last 18 years, on board as the senior executive editor. Assisting Amitabh would be Pranay Yadav, who has been appointed as the executive editor and Shivendra Kumar as the deputy executive editor. Yadav was with TV9 prior to joining this, while Kumar was with ABP News.
The news gathering team is to be headed by the new executive editor Rahul Choudhry from Aaj Tak with Sukesh Ranjan as political editor, Shamsher Singh as current affairs editor, Prateek Trivedi as associate editor and Sundeep Sonwalker as deputy editor.
A new flagship show involving chairman and editor in chief Rajat Sharma called ‘Aaj Ki Baat-Rajat Sharma ke Saath’ is set to be aired during the prime time. “India TV newsroom is fully charged to capture the excitement of upcoming General elections. Extensive plans have been made to report, analyse and present the battle for the next Lok Sabha elections to our viewers,” said Sharma.
Commenting on the new appointments India TV MD & CEO Ritu Dhawan said, “When the channel announced the appointment of QW Naqvi as the editorial director in October, it was always on cards that the content team will be further strengthened to gear up for the biggest event in the news genre, to begin with the General Elections slated for 2014.”
“Our viewers can be assured of most accurate and responsible news reporting, which will further cement our leadership position in Hindi News genre,” said Naqvi.
“All such efforts are a testimony to our commitment to broadcast a perfect mix of news, views & analysis to our ever-evolving audiences and we are sure that we will be able to create and maintain a perfect content mix,” added Dhawan.
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.
