News Broadcasting
News channels – shifting gears, positions
And charging down the back straight is Star News, snapping at the heels of leader Aaj Tak but still not quite there yet. Early pacemaker NDTV India, meanwhile, seems to have run out of steam and has dropped two places down to fourth behind steady stallion Zee News…
It’s been a topsy-turvy nine months in the Hindi news space as TV channels tried different programming innovations to woo audiences and advertisers and gain market share. What has clearly been demonstrated is that improvements being shown by some news channels and the addition of fresh blood makes the news channel ratings race a roller-coaster one. Media observers term this period of upheaval as a time when the rules of the game are being cast and recast.
That this upheaval has been more for the positive is indicated by the fact that the news broadcast industry, which two or three years ago was worth just Rs 1 billion, has grown into a Rs 5 billion market with the potential of growing further. However, as a media analyst points out, a shakeout is bound to happen through consolidation. But till that happens, these “frequent ups and downs in the ratings charts will continue” to take place through the ways events are covered or, maybe, just on innovative presentation.
Revenues in this sector grew 13 per cent, which is about even with the growth rate of the Indian TV industry as a whole, according to the TAM Media Research. Is there room for further growth? It would appear so. A recent study conducted by Synovate, the market research arm of Aegis Group, indicates that a majority of Indians (78 per cent) trust a lot of the news stories they see or hear. It is that trust and appetite for news that the current players and the upcoming wannabes are banking on to sustain growth going forward.
Entering the last quarter of calendar 2005, it has clearly shaped up into a two-horse race for the numero uno position between long time leader Aaj Tak and the year’s biggest gainer by a mile Star News. A sea change from 2004 when it was NDTV India that was doing all the running to catch up with Aaj Tak.
According to TAM, the Hindi news segment witnessed a spike with respect to certain channels in viewership during the calamity that hit Mumbai on 26 July and in its aftermath. And if there is one single event that really gave the Mumbai-headquartered Star News its critical forward thrust, it was the manner in which it managed its coverage of the catastrophic Mumbai deluge. Conversely, NDTV India’s dip in channel share is also partly linked to its coverage of the Mumbai floods and serves to highlight that things are still in the evolution phase as far as channel rankings go.
Consulting firm KPMG’s associate director Anindya Roychowdhury offers what can be taken as both a cautionary note and one of hope to those who have seen a downswing in their fortunes in the recent past. Says Roychowdhury, “Although there has been a shift in (channel) positions, nonetheless it needs noting that news channels have sticky eyeballs, which is unlike entertainment channels.” Roychowdhury’s point is that because news channels extract more loyalty, if a channel manages to get its act together again, viewers that have been long hooked to its offerings earlier would like as not return (or if the rival channel loses some of its sheen on the content and presentation front).
Adding to what Roychowdhury said, another financial analyst states that the channel which has a grip on robust content will survive in the long run.
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.
