News Broadcasting
MTV India forays into films; spoofs ‘Dhoom’
MUMBAI: Spoofy! That’s how MTV India can be best described. After the latest spoof on Star World’s Rendezvous With Simi Garewal that gave birth to Rendezvous With Semi Girebaal on the small screen, MTV is now eyeing the big screen.
The plan this time round is to spoof big banner movies and their first movie is titled – Ghoom. No prizes for guessing that it’s a spoof on Yash Raj Films’ (YRF) Dhoom, which starred Abhishekh Bachchan, John Abraham, Uday Chopra, Esha Deol and Rimi Sen.
MTV India plans to make two more films this year. Spoofs, a la Scary Movie and Hotshots!
Ghoom, which will be released theatrically on 2 June, comes at a time when YRF is busy with its schedule for Dhoom 2, which is slated to release in October this year.
Coca Cola has been roped in as the presenting sponsor of Ghoom, which will be a one hour film. Inspired by the success of the show on MTV called Fully Faltoo, MTV India has produced the film under the MTV Fully Faltoo Films banner. The company is touting Ghoom as a blockbuster movie and has tied up with the Inox chain of multiplexes for distributing and screening the film. The movie will be released across Inox theatres in four cities – Mumbai, Pune, Delhi and Kolkata and will be later aired on MTV on 17 June.
The star cast includes Sumeet Raghavan (of Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai fame) as Inspector Vijay Dikshit essaying the role of Abhishekh Bachchan; Ajay Gehi (Maqbool) as The Fool will portray the character of Uday Chopra and Gaurav Chopra as Balbir will play John Abraham’s character. The female brigade comprises Benika Deepak as Tweety Dikshit (Rimi Sen’s character) and Purbi Joshi will play Esha Deol’s character of Dilbaara.
MTV Networks India vice president and general manger creative and content Ashish Patil says, “This is one of MTV’s biggest initiatives for 2006. It’s the next level of comedy with a full-on, Fully Faltoo, full length feature film. It is guaranteed to make your head go ghoom, ghoom, ghoom. Watch it at your own risk!”
The channel is also planning to have a premiere of Ghoom at the Inox theatre in Mumbai on 31 May. What’s more, plans are also underway to launch the DVD of Ghoom for which the channel is in talks with a couple of players.
Coca Cola, on the other hand, is spinning a contest around the movie wherein winners will get a chance to meet Aishwarya Rai. With its latest ‘Thande Ka Tadka’ summer campaign already underway, the soft drink major had recently also tied up with Aamir Khan starrer Rang De Basanti.
Coca Cola India Ltd vice president marketing Vikas Gupta says, “Coca Cola, this summer, is constantly on the look out for exciting opportunities to add its ‘Thande Ka Tadka.’ Being in association with MTV’s Ghoom is part of the same endeavour. The first-of-its-kind initiative on television, it is all about using wit and humour to capture the imagination of the youth. After all, what is life without a twist or shall we say tadka.”
Inox vice president marketing Shrikant Hazare said, “Ghoom is an unprecedented initiative that is sure to create excitement in theatres. We are glad to partner with MTV on this.”
Like is true of any movie promotion and marketing activity, MTV India will also be going the whole hog to promote Ghoom. MTV has planned an extensive 360 degree push with print, television, outdoor, radio, online, mobile and viral marketing. Promos will also run across Inox multiplexes in the four cities.
Apart from this, the channel will also be supporting the film on-air across its key properties like Piddhu The Great (a spoof on cricketer turned commentator Navjot Singh Siddhu) amongst others. The trailers of Ghoom will break on MTV this week, followed by trailers on AXN and Zee Cinema. The music video and a show on the making of the film will start airing sometime next week.
Besides Coca Cola and Inox, MTV has also roped in Nokia and Parle Hide and Seek as associate sponsors and 93.5 Red FM as radio partner.
News Broadcasting
Network18 trims FY26 losses as Q4 revenue touches Rs 1,955 crore, 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.
