News Broadcasting
‘Lakme Fashion House’ to launch on Star One
NEW DELHI: The latest to join the reality TV bandwagon is Star One. Early next year, it will unveil a show, christened Lakme Fashion House, which is, of course, tailored to suit the brand image being propagated by the channel that of catering to the upmarket youth in the age group of 15-34.
What adds zing to the show is that the winner, who has to be a budding fashion designer, gets to do a six-month stint with the Italian fashion powerhouse Versace; all expenses paid by the organisers of the show.
This one-hour show would have 12-15 aspiring designers giving flight to their fancies and creativity. The final products will be modeled by a group of celebrities to add some pizzazz to the whole proceedings. The whole process is likely to take slightly over two months.
The winning creation would be branded by Versace as part of a marketing initiative.
The show is being brought to India by Star after it had a hugely successful run two years back on Sky Italia, another News Corporation-controlled TV channel in Europe. Even the Versace angle is part of an international agreement that News Corporation and the game show format owners, FCB, have with the fashion house.
Considering Versace and his creations are well known in India now, courtesy proliferation of Fashion TV, the reality show is likely to create a buzz not only among participants, but also viewers, mostly comprising the P3-types.
Star India COO Sameer Nair denied that this reality programme has anything to do with taking on Times group-controlled Zoom, which thrives on glamour-based shows, and said, Since Star is the pioneer of reality shows in India (starting with the hunt for Viva through Popstars), Lakme Fashion House is another initiative to bring innovative shows. This one was very popular on Sky Italia and we think would be here in India too.
On Sky Italia, the shows presenting sponsor was Nokia.
The entries for this reality show would start flooding the market soon and the show itself will culminate to coincide with the annual Lakme Fashion Week held in April-May.
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.
