News Broadcasting
‘L’ effect: Rly minister Laloo’s budget speech delivers high on the ratings
MUMBAI: Critics might argue that his railway budget had a soft corner for Bihar but taking into account the high television viewership ratings his budget speech telecast has delivered, railway minister Laloo Prasad Yadav is one strong contender for the position of the most popular railway minister India had in the recent past.
According to TAM, the railway budget presented by Laloo Prasad Yadav on 6 July recorded the largest viewership than any other railway minister in the last three years. Here are some facts that show the extent to which the ‘L’ factor influenced viewership.
Stated as under is the viewership trend of the live telecast of railway budget in 6 metros indexed on 2002 (TAM TG CS 4+).
According to TAM, a comparison of the profile of viewers of Laloo Prasad Yadav’s railway budget this year and the profile of viewers of Nitish Kumar’s railway budget (TG CS 4+, 6 metroes) indicates the strong hold that Laloo Prasad Yadav has over the masses.
Sec C and Sec D/E constituted for almost 86 per cent of the viewership up from 21 per cent for the last railway budget and consequentially Sec A and Sec B dropped from 78 per cent to only 13 per cent.
A look at the age group break up reveals that Laloo rules over almost everyone even the kids. Last year, Nitish Kumar had 66 per cent of his viewers coming from the 35 plus category, followed by the 15-24 category that garnered 25 per cent. In Laloo’s case, it is well distributed over all segments. CS 35 has 34 per cent, CS 25-34 has 31 per cent, 15-24 has 11 per cent and CS+ 14 has 24 per cent.
TAM findings show that Laloo had more female viewership compared to Nitish Kumar. Last year’s figures show Kumar finding 65 per cent of his viewership in male segment and 44 per cent in the female segment. In Laloo’s case, it has turned out to be 35 per cent and 56 per cent respectively.
A look at how Laloo Prasad Yadav has faired in different states and zones:
According to TAM, the viewership had tripled from 2002 to 2004 and had shown almost 75 per cent increase compared to last year. Adding to this is the fact that not only the viewership time had gone up but the total time on analysis of the railway budget had also gone up by almost three times, some of this increase could, of course, be discounted as there had been an increase in the number of news channels.
But looking at an average of the total time devoted to special analysis of the railway budget across the news channels we can see the 2004 budget telecast recording 145 minutes compared to 2002’s 100 and 2003’s 69.
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.
