News Broadcasting
NEWJ (New Emerging World of Journalism Limited) announces appointment of Siddharth Zarabi as Managing Editor
NEWJ (New Emerging World of Journalism Limited) today announced the appointment of senior journalist Siddharth Zarabi as the Managing Editor.
An award-winning media professional and Chevening Scholar, Siddharth Zarabi is among India’s best-known journalists with over two decades of experience as a results-oriented, decisive leader.
Siddharth has led newsrooms in marquee Indian print companies, as well as headed two business news channels with global partners. Credited with multiple content and platform innovations in the fiercely competitive news industry, he has deep knowledge and wide experience across the media value chain.
NEWJ, one of India’s fastest growing tech-media startups, was founded by a team of young entrepreneurs led by Shalabh Upadhyay.
It is a video-only, mobile-first publisher focused on curating and producing high impact video content for the smartphone obsessed young Indians. As a “social-first” publisher, NEWJ has, since its launch in January 2019, produced and distributed over 10,000 videos in 7 languages, aggregating over 4 billion views while creating an audience of over 6 million across 12+ social media and OTT platforms. As many as 550 video stories produced by the ‘NEWJRoom’ have recorded over a million views each.
Speaking on the appointment, Shalabh Upadhyay, Founder & CEO said, “It gives me great pleasure to welcome Siddharth on board at NEWJ to drive growth and value creation. As a young startup, we have achieved significant landmarks in a short span of time. In the midst of the massive disruption caused by the Covid19 pandemic, we believe now is the time to ramp up our mission of creating a voice for India’s emerging youth. In the fast-growing digital media landscape, we are committed to providing a platform for young journalists and content creators by continuing to expand our team.”
“In the days ahead, NEWJ aims to scale up its capabilities in visual storytelling with a focus on #BharatFirst. An important part of this mission will be to deepen efforts to reduce the urban-rural divide in India’s new media space by leveraging data and tech to serve one of the largest and fastest growing news markets in the world. Our mission is to tell stories that matter to India’s masses. NEWJ remains committed to helping build a ‘Digital Bharat’ and grow the country’s Digital Knowledge Economy through impactful and India-centric storytelling”, Upadhyay added.
Speaking on the new assignment, Siddharth Zarabi said, “India’s news media landscape is witnessing a massive transformation. The costs of the past and the legacy of old systems are weighing on innovation in content creation. The ongoing disruption is sowing the seeds for a new generation of tech-enabled, data driven news producers. The news consumer of tomorrow will be even more ‘social’ than today and continue to ‘distance’ from existing, legacy news platforms.”
“Affordable data and connected devices have meant that an unprecedented amount of news is being consumed socially. NEWJ is extremely well placed to lead the ongoing transformational shift in the industry. I look forward to working with the phenomenal NEWJ team to continue serving great content to 400 million plus Indians active on social platforms like Facebook among others”, Zarabi added.
The startup’s ‘NEWJRoom’ currently produces videos in seven languages – Hindi, English, Tamil, Bangla, Marathi, Telugu, and Kannada. Some of the most popular offerings are NEWJ Rajneeti, NEWJ Dharohar, NEWJ Garv and Filmy NEWJ.
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.
