News Broadcasting
Keeping identity a challenge for PSBs
MUMBAI: Maintaining competitiveness and universality will be the key issue for public service broadcasters as terrestrial broadcasting loses its audience share and media influence to emerging media.
This was the message that Min Eun-Kyung, executive director of international relations for KBS-Korea, had for delegates to the annual Public Broadcasting International which opened in Maputo, Mozambique, on Thursday.
“Amidst the countless number of channels, platforms and content, keeping the identity of public service broadcasting will become increasingly challenging,” Min has been quoted as saying in a report put out on the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) website.
“The digital revolution will create room for critical voices about the function and role of public service broadcasting,” Min added.
Min said that public service broadcasting was an essential societal institution in the service of cultural diversity and media pluralism. “We must make every possible effort to remind our viewers of the value of public service broadcasting and every possible effort to keep our function and identity in the future,” she explained.
Finance is another key issue for public service broadcasters, according to Min. She said that having a stable financial structure is necessary to make progress in the multimedia environment, remain competitive, and to gain independence from political and commercial influences.
“More importantly, a stable financial system is the only way to fulfill public service broadcasting missions in a highly competitive digital media environment,” she added.
“Expanding services to multiple platforms is a high-cost business and without a desirable financing model, newly launched media services would have to charge a fee.”
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.
