News Broadcasting
NBC in restructuring mode for series development
MUMBAI: Faced with a decline in ratings, US broadcaster NBC has decided to take the bull by the horns. NBC Entertainment has announced a major re-structuring that will allow creative talent more access points into the network and closer working relationships with the development teams.
NBC has split the comedy and drama departments into two separate teams which will concentrate on ideas from NBC Universal Television Studio.
There will be another dedicated team to cultivate and accept external projects from outside studios.
In addition, NBC will open a New York programme development office that will develop all genres sourcing local talent. All the development executives will report to NBC Entertainment executive VP of series development Ghen Maynard.
“A challenge of the network television system is that its a high volume game, with too many executives each covering too many projects. With the West Coast realignment, it will thin out the volume on any one executive’s plate to let them be more pro-active and work more closely with creative talent. It also allows for more access points for freeball projects to get into the network system. Additionally this will enable us to get closer to our goal of maintaining original programming on the air year-round,” says Maynard
Veteran network executive Cheryl Dolins is expected to remain as senior vice president, comedy development, after shepherding the highly anticipated new comedy The Office and delivering a promising comedy development slate for 2005-06.
Dolins will oversee comedy projects from NBC Universal Television Studio. Gina Girolamo also continues as vice president, comedy development, reporting to Dolins.
The second comedy unit for outside studios will be led by newly hired Jane Greenstein. She previous served as Fox director, comedy development. She now becomes NBC Entertainment VP, comedy development. Terence Carter, moving over from Tonic Films, joins the network as director, comedy development, and will report to Greenstein.
Michael Thorn will lead the drama development team overseeing projects from NBC Universal Television Studio that will include an executive to be named later. The second drama unit for outside studios will be headed by Chris Castallo (coming from Tollin-Robbins Productions), newly hired to serve as vice president, drama development. He will be joined by Justin Levy, who moves over from comedy development to become manager, drama development.
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.
