News Broadcasting
Mona Jain returns to ABP Network as president – revenue growth and business development
MUMBAI: ABP Network has brought back Mona Jain as president – revenue growth and business development, handing a battle-tested media hand the keys to its next phase of monetisation. The move signals a renewed push on revenue, sharper cross-platform deals and growth partnerships in an increasingly competitive news market.
Jain returns from Brandpulse Global, where she served as chief growth officer, and steps into a mandate squarely focused on scaling revenues and unlocking new business streams. With decades across media, advertising and brand strategy, she arrives with a reputation for turning commercial strategy into topline momentum.
Her résumé reads like a tour of India’s modern advertising story. Stints at Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited, Vivaki Exchange, Cheil Communications, Mudra Communications, Contract Advertising and Hindustan Thompson Associates have put her at the centre of big-ticket brand building and media buying. She began as a media planner in 1989 and went on to work on early launches of Pepsi and Samsung in India, later helping set up Samsung’s in-house media unit under Cheil.
Along the way she has touched brands that shaped consumer India—Pepsi, Maggi, KitKat, McDonald’s, Samsung, Hyundai, Nestlé Chocolates, Hero Puch and Micromax—building a track record in scaling visibility and squeezing more value from media spends. At Cheil, she was recognised as a top international employee and led headline-grabbing properties such as the Samsung Cup and Samsung’s IIFA associations.
Industry insiders say ABP’s bet is clear: bring in a commercial rainmaker as advertising markets fragment and digital platforms rewrite the rules. Jain’s mix of agency rigour and client-side exposure could prove handy as news networks chase smarter revenues, not just bigger ones.
The brief is simple, the stakes are not. In a market where attention is fickle and advertisers demand returns, Jain is back where she has often thrived—at the sharp end of growth.
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.
