News Broadcasting
Indiantelevision.com feted for ‘Excellence in Brand Building’
MUMBAI: Indiantelevision.com continues to gather accolades. At the 3rd Indira Awards for Marketing Excellence, which were presented at a glittering ceremony in Pune on Sunday, India’s premiere television services portal was feted for Excellence in Brand Building.
indiantelevision.com CEO Anil Wanvari makes a point while accepting the award during the Indira Awards for Marketing Excellence held in Pune on Sunday.
The Indira Awards for Marketing Excellence aim to award and applaud some of the best marketing and advertising talent in the country and is in its third year. It has been instituted by ‘A’ List business school – the Indira Group of Institutes, Pune. Along with Indiantelevision.com founder and CEO Anil Wanvari, five others received Excellence in Brand Building awards for 2003.
They were Bhaskar Parikh, V-P, Zandu Pharmaceuticals Work Ltd, KC Mehra, MD, Forbes Gokak Ltd., Adarsh Gupta, executive director, Liberty Shoes Ltd., S K Jhunjhunwala, MD, La Opala Glass Ltd. and Satish Kumar, CEO, Henkel (FA).
Among the other awards that were handed out on the night included Excellence in Social Marketing, Highly recalled Brand Award, CEO of the Year, Brand Leadership and Innovative Marketing Professional Of the Year. There was a News Channel of the Year award as well that was received on behalf of G Krishnan, Aaj Tak CEO.
There were some big names in advertising present as well. The Outstanding Contribution to the Advertising Industry award went to Ravi Deshpande, president, Lemon Communications Pvt Ltd, the Award for Social Marketing and Awareness to YK Sapru, founder, Cancer Patients Aids Association, Lifetime Achievement Award to Alyque Padamsee, CEO, AP Associates, and the Creative Professional of the Year to Prasoon Joshi, national creative director, McCann – Erickson (India) Ltd.
Nirvik Singh, CEO, Grey Worldwide won for Outstanding Professional of the Year while Arun Kumar, GM – Marketing Kurlon received the Excellence in Brand Building award.
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.
