News Broadcasting
Madras HC restrains Zee Media, News Nation in defamation suit filed by MS Dhoni
MUMBAI: It’s Rs 100 crore and we aren’t talking about any Bollywood movie. It is about a defamation suit filed by Indian cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni against two news channel networks Zee Media Corporation and News Nation and also against suspended IPS officer G Sampath Kumar.
Dhoni has filed the suit in the Madras High Court claiming that the three parties had made highly defamatory, scandalous, libelous and malicious false reports about his involvement in the IPL betting scandal.
According to a report in The Hindu, an interim order has been passed by justice S Tamilvanan restraining the two news networks from broadcasting any news linking Dhoni with the betting scam for a period of two weeks.
The reports that were broadcast by the news networks revolved around IPL team Chennai Super Kings, of which Dhoni is the captain, and his alleged involvement in match fixing, which, the suit said, has devastated his reputation and image in the eyes of millions of fans all over the world.
When contacted, Zee Media Corp CEO Alok Agrawal said, “We have done nothing wrong. The allegations are baseless. Our lawyers are working on it and we will be fighting the case till the end.”
One the other hand, the one-year old News Nation’s CEO Shailesh Kumar said he is awaiting a copy of the court’s interim order and that the news broadcaster is yet to rope in a lawyer to defend itself.
The Hindu report also said Dhoni claims the news reports were done with an intention to project him as an object of hate and ridicule.
Dhoni has also claimed a total of Rs 100 crore as damages from the three defendants.
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.
