News Broadcasting
New Skies NSS-7 satellite lift-off today
Global satellite communications company New Skies Satellites has announced the completion of preparations for the launch of its high-powered NSS-7 Atlantic Ocean region satellite. The launch scheduled for Tuesday will be the first launch of a Dutch commercial communications satellite.
The 4,700-kilogram NSS-7, built by Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems, will lift off from the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana aboard an Ariane 4 rocket. The launch window on the evening of 16 April is between 10:53 pm (16 April) and 12:14 pm (17 April) GMT.
NSS-7 will succeed the NSS-K and NSS-803 satellites at 338.5 degrees East longitude over the Atlantic Ocean, and will offer enhanced coverage of the Americas, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The spacecraft will retire NSS-K and free NSS-803 to be re-positioned over the Pacific Ocean at 183 degrees East, according to an official release.
Upon reaching its new orbital location, NSS-803 will replace the NSS-513 satellite and provide more robust capacity for services throughout the Asia-Pacific region as well as trans-oceanic connectivity to the United States. The release states that NSS-7 will offer current and potential customers a full complement of services, including video distribution and contribution, Internet backbone connectivity, corporate business networking as well as telephony and data services. The satellite will combine the existing television and Internet services on NSS-K with the substantial video and data traffic on NSS-803, debuting with an established video, IP and telecom neighborhood.
The NSS-7 design is based on Lockheed Martin’s A2100AX platform and boasts a communications payload consisting of nearly 3,500 MHz of capacity. The bandwidth is spread over 36 C-band and 36 Ku-band transponders in 11 high-powered coverage beams, which are focused on key developed and emerging markets.
Existing customers on NSS-K and NSS-803 are expected to be transitioned to NSS-7 by August. The satellite will be operated from the New Skies satellite operations center in The Hague. The launch signifies the beginning of an expansion campaign that will double New Skies’ in-orbit resources by the end of next year, providing state-of-the-art capacity and services in every major market.
The company believes NSS-7’s Ku-band beams in Central and South America, as well as Western and Southern Africa, will offer more efficient transmission capabilities to broadcasters and VSAT service providers, and will add much-needed incremental Ku-band capacity to New Skies’ inventory in the Atlantic Ocean region. It expects NSS-803 at 183 degrees East to form a vital link in its worldwide network, relaying bi-directional traffic between the United States and the Pacific Rim.
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.
