News Broadcasting
Net-Med youth project empowers young voices to help freedom of media
NEW DELHI: A network providing knowledge and tools to empower young women and men in the Western and Eastern Basins of the Mediterranean to be launched this week will among other things promote young people’s freedom of expression, representation in mainstream media and empowerment through media and information literacy, thus underpinning their participation in public dialogue.
By facilitating their involvement in media production and reinforcing the capacities of young journalists, quality coverage relating to youth rights and perspectives will be fostered.
The network will be launched at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris on 5 June. The Networks of Mediterranean Youth Project is supported by UNESCO and the European Union, which has committed $12million to the project for the next three years.
In addition, NET-MED Youth will provide national youth organisations with opportunities for supporting the review of policies and programmes focused on youth employment and transitions, for participating in the production and dissemination of prospective diagnosis findings about the national and regional skills challenges, as well as for reinforcing their capacity to influence the national dialogue with stakeholders.
Eastern and western Mediterranean countries share common challenges related to the social inclusion of youth, such as high unemployment and weak labour market participation of young women, low representation in public and political spheres, disinterest in civic engagement, exclusion from mainstream media and economic marginalization.
NET-MED Youth is UNESCO’s interdisciplinary response to these issues, built on an analysis of aspirations and needs of youth in each country.
The Network will help young women and men to develop their competencies, claim and exercise their rights and meaningfully engage as active citizens, particularly in decision-making relating to youth policies. The focus will be on the development and revision of public policies by young women and men, through reinforcing the capacities and participation of identified youth organisations and stakeholders working on youth-related issues (locally elected officials, decision-makers and civil servants).
These activities will be conducted initially on a national level with transnational networking opportunities to be provided as a second step, in order to share experiences between two or more countries and support regional integration.
NET-MED Youth is part of UNESCO’s Operational Strategy on Youth 2014-2021 and is fully in line with the UN System-wide Action Plan on Youth (SWAP). The Project also builds on former EU Programmes and will be carried out in collaboration with EU Delegations and UN entities on a national level. As part of the Paris launch, a Briefing and Training Workshop will be held at UNESCO Headquarters from 4 to 6 June, bringing together the project coordinators in the participating countries.
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.
