News Broadcasting
NDTV toys with regional variant
NEW DELHI: The Prannoy Roy-promoted NDTV Ltd has drawn up plans to reach out to the grassroots by starting a new news channel where the focus would be more on regional and local news instead of national and international happenings.
This yet-to-be-named product is part of NDTV’s move to broadbase and reflects its ambitions to have a bouquet of its own channels catering to various genre of popular television broadcasting. An uplink permission for this channel has been sought from the government.
According to broadcast industry sources, after having launched three news channels, of which one is the clear leader in its segment, another is going toe-to-toe with the till now sole player and a third is a strong Number Two, NDTV is now trying to focus on a product that would highlight local news of various regions, including the metros.
This is also being seen as a move to counter the growing dominance of regional channels like ETV, Sahara and now even Star.
“The full content line-up of the proposed channel is still being ideated and fine-tuned. Though, in principle, it has been decided that a new news channel with emphasis on local news of various regions does have potential to be marketed,” an industry source familiar with this development told Indiantelevision.com.
According to a recent JP Morgan research report, in the $4.5 billion Indian entertainment industry, the advertising industry is expected to grow strongly by around 12 per cent in FY 2006-2008. TV will increase its share of ad pie from 47 per cent to 50 per cent in the next three years to cross Rs 50 billion, the report states. Not surprisingly, within the TV segment, news broadcasting is the fastest growing one.
It is learnt that the proposed channel would have programming based on lifestyle and nightlife of various cities too, along with other local news that would be useful for regional viewers. The probability of the new product being in English language is high as it would have wider appeal. However, a NDTV Profit-type format is also not being ruled out. The business channel has programming that uses both the Hindi and English languages.
If everything goes well, which includes getting various permissions from the government, the new channel from the NDTV stable is likely to go on air within three months time.
At the moment, NDTV has three news channels — NDTV 24×7 in English, NDTV India in Hindi and business channel NDTV Profit.
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.
