News Broadcasting
Murdoch mayhem hits India
News Corp Chairman Rupert Murdoch seems to have made a lot out of his Mumbai visit. The media baron held a series of meetings in Mumbai. He touched base with his old friends, colleagues, to-be business partners, ex-partners, and important local political heavyweights.
On Tuesday morning, he had a meeting with Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, wherein he reiterated his commitment to further his investments in Maharashtra, and also voiced his interest in taking part in the information technology revolution that the new NCP government is trying to bring into the state. The meeting was followed by an impromptu press conference.
The previous day he had meetings with petrochemical and telecom baron Dhirubhai Ambani, his old partner turned rival Subhash Chandra, and the Baramati badshah and leader of the National Congress Party Sharad Pawar, apart from the Star TV staff.
Reportedly, the meeting with Subhash Chandra was a courtesy call and no business was discussed. A large part of his day was spent at the Star TV office in Andheri. He is also seriously considering Sam Pitroda’s WorldTel venture of spreading cyber cafes all over the country at par with the STD booths.
He is expected to meet Ratan Tata who recently announced his Infotech plans. Discussions could cover a Joint venture whereby Murdoch would provide content for Tata’s IT network. Murdoch’s agenda also includes meetings with Ashok Hinduja, Remi Hinduja and his old friend Nusli Wadia. The Hinduja-run cable network IN CableNet could do business with News Corp as IN Cablenet needs content and News Corp needs distribution. This can tackle the threat from the Zee group which owns SitiCable and which also has the content power.
The media giant, earlier, was pretty impressed with Bangalore city. He had held preliminary talks with some portals and he is expected to fund a couple of ventures. One on the list includes a portal by the Pradip Kar owned Microland Group and the other is a Bangalore-centric portal Explocity.com. Murdoch also announced that Bangalore might be the second city to have a production studio apart from Mumbai.
Murdoch will fly to Delhi from Mumbai and is slated to meet the Prime Minister, the Infotech Minister Pramod Mahajan apart from attending the “Janata Ki Adalat” bash in the capital.
The shrewd businessman has made sure to make the most out of his India trip and he is expected to make big announcements within a few
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.
