News Broadcasting
India-WI series: DD, Nimbus talks fail; govt looks set to ram through ordinance
NEW DELHI: The talks between rights holder Nimbus Sports and Prasar Bharati over sharing of telecast signals of the upcoming India-West Indies cricket series have broken down. And with the government having finalized the provisions of an ordinance on the compulsory sharing of “sporting events of national importance”, the chances of it being promulgated are now high, say government officials.
The formula Nimbus proposed was that DD agree to a 15-minute delayed telecast transmission beyond Neo Sport’s actual live telecast, saying that DD should use the term “As Live” for their transmission.
Nimbus also did not agree to DD showing the matches on its DTH platform DD Direct Plus.
The top official of DD reportedly reacted to the proposal terming it as totally unacceptable. “We cannot have someone having freshly baked bread and others stale stuff,” DD mandarins asserted.
Nimbus has said if at all it shares the feed, the signals have to be encrypted so that it reaches houses only on the terrestrial network and not those that get DD signals through cable TV.
However, Prasar Bharati officials, citing previous government orders and court rulings that they claim have gone in their favour, are demanding that they should get live feed of the cricket series, without any conditions, and that it also be shared on DD’s DTH platform.
Following the breakdown of talks DD officials have gone back to taking the cover of the Uplink-Downlink Guidelines that perforce allow DD to get the telecast feed.
While officials were hesitant to actually state that the ordinance was on its way, they admitted that it “looks like either tonight or tomorrow it is most likely to be issued”, if Nimbus did not agree to go by the guidelines.
Prasar Bharati officials also said that the provisions of the Sports Broadcasting Signals (Compulsory Sharing with Prasar Bharati) Bill 2007 has been drafted and if the ordinance comes through, it will be a precursor to the Bill. “If the ordinance comes, they will not be able to flout it,” the officials said.
Meanwhile, Prasar Bharati officials said that there was little time now to generate the advertisements for the first game, “but we have go the ads lined up. It is just the question of ringing the bell”.
“Hopefully, there will be a three-day gap between the first and second matches and ads generated by Prasar Bharati can be aired,” the officials said, adding that there were government as well as corporate advertisers lined up.
India and West Indies will play four one-day matches during January 21-31. The series will be followed by Sri Lanka’s tour to India in February.
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.
