News Broadcasting
Italy relaxes media rules; critics cry foul
MUMBAI: Italy’s parliament has cleared a controversial media law that was earlier vetoed by president Carlo Azeglio Ciampi. Having undergone some minor alterations, the law was passed by the parliament on Thursday. Under Italian law, Ciampi cannot veto them again.
The new law will see prime minister Silvio Berlusconi’s firm Mediaset taking over 90 percent of Italy’s television broadcasts, and gives him freedom to acquire more newspapers and radio stations.
The long-in-the-works rules raise the cap on broadcast advertising and ease limits on how many stations each TV player can own. Besides putting a 20% cap on the total share of the media market revenue that a single company can hold — instead of a 30% cap placed solely on TV revenue — the new law will allow cross-ownership of webs and newspapers in 2010 and optimistically sees Italy shifting to terrestrial digital TV by 2006, say media reports.
The law also authorises a partial privatisation of pubcaster RAI starting next year. Critics suggest that the law will give Berlusconi an undue advantage that will see him dominating the country’s media.
Berlusconi’s $7.8 billion family holding firm Fininvest also owns Medusa Film, Mondadori publishing group and the Jumpy Internet portal.
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.
