News Broadcasting
NBF writes to I&B minister Anurag Thakur regarding landing page issue
Mumbai: The News Broadcasters Federation (NBF) has written a letter to the union minister of information and broadcasting Anurag Thakur on the issue of landing pages. The landing page is the first channel that the viewer sees when anyone turns on the set-top box.
The letter is signed by NBF founding president Arnab Goswami and secretary-general Jai Krishna.
NBF has asked the I&B ministry to address the issue of the landing page being measured by the viewership rating agency Broadcast Audience Research Council (Barc) as ‘true viewership’, thereby skewing the final data.
In its letter, NBF argues that the use of landing pages to alter viewership data is a ‘restrictive trade practice’ leading the way for monopolies to be formed in the news media industry.
Read Also: Why Barc’s landing page viewership measurement is worrying TV9’s Barun Das
It claims, “The brazen use of landing pages, bought at a price, to artificially amplify viewership data of certain channels gives channels with deep pockets an anti-competitive advantage. It is shocking that some news channels today get 84 per cent of their viewership from just two states in India, because of landing pages.”
The letter puts the onus of resolving the landing page issue on Barc stating that the TV audience measurement firm can exclude landing page data from viewership estimates.
The letter further reads, “In the past, Barc had included unfiltered outliers data from the landing page for its rating data, but had later decided to exclude it from viewership. Therefore, it is clear that Barc has both the ability and the precedent of filtering out landing page data while calculating viewership, but is still not doing so. In fact, in the past, Barc had itself termed the use of landing pages as a “false exaggeration of viewership.”
The letter appeals to the I&B minister to intervene in the matter.“The NBF is fully committed to working with the Ministry and all stakeholders across the board to address the issue collectively and reach a solution,” the letter concludes.
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.
