News Broadcasting
Lewis-Tyson fight highest ever-grossing PPV event
Could this happen in India? Wouldn’t our big broadcasters just wish it were so. The heavyweight showdown between reigning heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis and former undisputed heavyweight champion Mike Tyson on Saturday night (Sunday morning in India) registered a massive 1.8 million pay-per-view buys in the US. The telecast generated $103 million of pay-per-view revenue, the highest-grossing pay-per-view event in history.
The 1.8 million buys represents the highest figure for a heavyweight pay-per-view prizefight since 1997. In fact, it is the first prizefight to do more than one million buys since 1999, when two fights surpassed the one million-buy mark. The buys consisted of 1.2 million buys from cable systems and 600,000 from satellite homes throughout the US.
Lewis, a three-time heavyweight champion, retained his title by scoring a dominating 8th round knockout victory. The event was presented by Budweiser and promoted by Lion Promotions, Main Events and Fight Night, Inc. in association with Prize Fight Promotions, LLC.
The showdown was co-produced and co-distributed by SHOWTIME and HBO. In India the fight aired live on Sunday morning on Star Movies.
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.
