News Broadcasting
Max says cricket thrusts it ahead of Star Plus at top in channel share
MUMBAI: The Indian team may be giving its fans ulcers by its up and down displays at the ongoing ICC World Cup 2003 but viewers just cannot seem to drag themselves away from the action if the TAM ratings data generated from the first week’s action is anything to go by.
Max, quoting TAM Media data, says it has displaced Star Plus at the top in terms of all-India channel share with 16.8 per cent as against 11.1 per cent for the flagship channel of the Star Network.
SET India CEO Kunal Dasgupta was quoted in a company release as saying: “Twenty of the Top 100 programs of the week were from MAX. There were four MAX programs in the Top 20, 12 in the Top 50, and 20 in the Top 100. In the Top programs category of the same week, the Live India-Australia match was placed 3rd. Apart from this, MAX captured one more position with the India-Holland match amongst the Top 10 shows.”
MAX business head Rajat Jain was also quoted in the same release as saying: “From the seven matches played till 15 February 2003, India matches pegged a high average of 8.6 despite India’s unimpressive showing in the first week. Similarly, the non-India matches too pegged a very impressive average rating of 4.2, which is an unheard of figure for non-India Cricket matches telecast in the past. The average of all seven matches was an excellent 5.5.”
The city which MAXed in terms of ratings was sports-crazy Kolkata which had an average rating of 10.3 for all seven matches, 20.2 for the India-Australia match and 17.6 for the India-Holland encounter.
“Similarly, Mumbai too pegged a good high of 10-plus for both, the India-Australia and the India-Holland matches,” said Jain, adding, “Hyderabad, Delhi and Bangalore too pegged highs of 9-plus for the India-Holland match, while Chennai gave us a high of 7.2 for the same,” Jain said.
Extraa Innings, MAX’s wrap-around programming, meanwhile, averaged 1.4 for all matches and 2 for the India matches. Looks as if Charu Sharma, Mandira Bedi and gang have something to crow about. And the critics be damned.
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.
