News Broadcasting
Mega Star Mammootty Inaugurates MBIFL 2024
Mumbai: Verstile actor Mammootty inaugurated the fifth edition of the Mathrubhumi International Festival of Letters (MBIFL 2024) at the Kanakakkunnu Palace on Thursday. The veteran actor noted that literary events like MBIFL are essential in an age where public spaces are shrinking and reading has transpired from flipping real pages to social media posts.
“Just as the sun acts as a natural purifying agent against germs in the atmosphere, literary fests and dialogues help remove the germs from our mindset and the society at large,” he said, adding that smaller editions of such festivals could be held in the countryside as public spaces are shrinking.
“Instead of limiting our world to ourselves, let us use these platforms to share our emotions. It will help remove many poisonous thoughts from society,” said Mammootty. “When there are no public spaces, we tend to cocoon ourselves and that is when poisonous thoughts creep in, keeping us from interacting with one another or share our emotions.”
He also underscored the role of Mathrubhumi in the renaissance movements of Kerala and the development of language and literature.
During the inaugural ceremony, Egyptian writer and journalist Mansoura Ez-Eldin said she never takes writing for granted and believes in the power of the written word. “We live where literature is very important. The visions present before us are often clouded and literature is a bridge that can help us cross various barriers and see the world as it really is.”
“We writers should resist any kind of inequality; we should speak against injustice,” she said, adding that most of us are prisoners of fixed ideas.
Writer Sarah Joseph delved into the significance of plurality and the need of creating pluralistic spaces at a time when voices of dissent are subdued and silenced. Democracy is in danger, and such public spaces of dialogues are where the protest against autocracy begins, she added. The author said India has always celebrated plurality and Kerala has a special role in it.
M.V. Shreyams Kumar, chairman of MBIFL and Mathrubhumi Managing Director said in his speech the world is lacking plurality in current times. One is losing the freedom to make an opinion or to disagree with another. “This festival discusses the need for plurality in such times,” India is a pluralistic nation and anything that goes against its grain will destroy its culture. “MBIFL focussed on plurality keeping this in mind,” he said.
Mathrubhumi Chairman and Managing Editor P.V. Chandran said the newspaper has been at the forefront of promoting art, culture and literature right from the days of its inception. “We used words as a weapon in the fight against the British,’’ he said.
Mathrubhumi Joint Managing Editor, P.V. Nidheesh welcomed the gathering and Manoj K. Das, Editor, Mathrubhumi daily and digital, proposed a vote of thanks.
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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.
