News Broadcasting
Ketaki Dave is ‘Kyunki’s’ third anniversary surprise
MUMBAI: After a fracas with Balaji Telefilms creative head Ektaa Kapoor two years ago, Ketaki Dave made a dramatic exit from Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu. Now get set for a not-quite-so-dramatic re-entry.
Owing to writer Rajesh Joshi’s efforts (and slipping TRPs?) the “misunderstandings” have been sorted out. So Ketaki Dave, the ‘a ra ra ra’ fame Daksha chachi, will be rejoining the Kyunkii… team on 3 July, coinciding with the daily soap’s third anniversary celebrations.
Prior to the 20-year fast forward revamp of television’s reigning soap, Dave had made a hasty exit. While her character was the only comic relief in the emotion heavy storyine, all attempts made thereafter to introduce a comedy track did not go down too well with audiences. The return of Dave could well be just what the TRP doctor ordered for the Hindi entertainment television’s former No. 1 soap.
Says Joshi about dave’s imminent return: “She is a brilliant performer and after her superb Daksha act audiences just refused to lap up anything that fell short of the standards she had set.”
And why has he been playing the peacemaker? “I had to solve the problem, Ketaki is a very good friend and so are Kapoors. While I had been speaking to both for some time, both Ektaa and Ketaki reconciled three months back,” he said. When asked why was it kept hidden from the press, he said: “If we were getting back it had to be in a big way. Since she was coming to India after a shooting schedule abroad only on 28 Jun, we planned her entry into the show on 3 July coinciding with the third anniversary date of Kyunki…” Joshi, however, remained tight lipped when asked how he plans to re-introduce Dave’s character ‘Daksha chachi’.
Anuj Saxena
Meanwhile, another actor to make a re-entry in a Balaji soap is Anuj Saxena aka Abhay in Sony’s Kkusum. Saxena had left the show earlier this year to pursue his movie career. The production house therefore roped in Rohit Roy to play Abhay. Just as luck would have it, Saxena returned to Mumbai after wrapping up a film shoot just around the time that Rohit went abroad to shoot for his own Bollywood project.
Rohit Roy
Says Ektaa Kapoor: “We had an important schedule coming up but Rohit had to go abroad owing to a previous movie commitment. So I had no option but to call in somebody else to fill in his shoes, luckily for me Anuj was in town. He is a dear friend so he agreed to join back the cast.” Putting at rest any talk of ego problems or some such, Kapoor asserted, “Rohit is a wonderful guy and good actor, I wouldn’t have replaced him hadn’t it been for his previous commitments.”
While Kyunki… was Star Plus’ top show till very recently, Kkusum is SET’s top soap. With both the shows reinstating pivotal characters, all eyes (the more the better) will be on whether the two make a difference to their respective shows’ fortunes.
News Broadcasting
Network18 posts Rs 1,955 crore revenue, narrows FY26 losses
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.
