News Broadcasting
News channels lobby to get ICC nod for World Cup coverage
NEW DELHI: Even as television news channels heaved a sigh of relief over the decision of the International Cricket Council to allow coverage of the Cricket World Cup final between India and Sri Lanka in Mumbai tomorrow, it was felt that the cricket body was not justified in threatening legal action against what it termed offending channels.
ICC President Sharad Pawar had this evening agreed to lift the bar on news coverage of the World Cup bowing to national outrage, but ICC CEO Haroon Lorgat said legal action would be considered against offending Indian news channels which have repeatedly breached the News Access Guidelines for Broadcasters for the World Cup.
It is learnt that Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni’s plea to her cabinet colleague and ICC President Sharad Pawar also played a role in the final decision.
A news channel executive on condition of anonymity said the tangle on which talks broke down between the ICC on the one hand and the News Broadcasters Association and the Broadcast Editors Association on the other was a very minor issue which was not in the hands of the news channels since the score boards were not put up at the instance of the news channels.
Earlier, the news channels were allowed to cover the world cup semi-final between India and Pakistan after ICC lifted the ban on accredited journalists from the news channels for a day following intervention by Soni.
The BEA had said earlier today that the decision of ICC to withdraw the accreditation of journalists covering Cricket World Cup matches is not only against this interest but also in contravention of the rights of the citizens to be informed. “We tried our best to make the ICC understand this but the recalcitrant attitude of the latter rendered our efforts sterile in the past three days,” BEA said.
Meanwhile, it is learnt that the I&B Ministry feels that the dispute – which centres around display of scoreboards with sponsor logos by the news channels – is a very minor issue and should not hold up coverage of the final tomorrow as both President Pratibha Devisingh Patil and Sri Lankan President Mahindra Rajapaksa are expected to be present.
Ministry sources say that the “the ball is in Sharad Pawar’s court” and he has to take a decision.
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.
