News Broadcasting
New Skies signs EBU deal for transmission services
NETHERLANDS: New Skies Satellites the global satellite communications company, has announced a long-term agreement with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) for value-added television contribution services over the new NSS-7 Atlantic Ocean Region satellite.
New Skies will enable the EBU, a group of 119 broadcasters from 79 countries, to digitally deliver contribution feeds from sporting and special events as well as breaking news stories in the United States to its member stations across Europe. In particular, it will link seamlessly EBU’s Washington bureau to the Eurovision users’ earth stations in Europe.
The service for the EBU will take advantage of the NSS-7 satellite and New Skies’ Washington D.C. Mediaport. The EBU will co-locate digital transmission equipment in the recently enhanced facility, which also features an ultra-high speed OC-12 fiber link (622 Mbps) direct to a major Washington D.C. metro video hub, connecting all local access providers in the area. The EBU will route its digital video traffic through this connection to the Mediaport for uplink to the NSS-7 satellite and broadcast to points across Europe and the Middle East. The service will begin during the fourth quarter of this year.
NSS-7 was launched on 16 April, 2002 from the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana and commenced commercial services on May 30, 2002. The satellite replaced both NSS-803 and NSS-K at 338.5 degrees east, combining the extensive television transmissions and Internet traffic from the two satellites to debut as a premier video and IP neighborhood in the Atlantic Ocean region. NSS-7, a Lockheed Martin A2100AX model spacecraft, boasts 36 C-band and 36 Ku-band transponders and eleven high-powered coverage beams. The satellite is capable of broadcasting video, Internet and data traffic throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. With a blue-chip full-time customer lineup and occasional-use transmissions of breaking world news as well as prominent sporting events, NSS-7 broadcasts to thousands of antennas across its vast footprint.
Founded in 1950, the European Broadcasting Union is the largest professional association of national broadcasters in the world with 70 members and associate members in 51 countries of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East and 49 associate members in 29 countries further afield.
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.
